Offering Of The Cherry Blossom
by Akatsuki Sakura Uchiha
Summary: Every 50 years Lord Sesshomaru looks for a new mate, but what happens when he comes to Konoha and lands his eyes on a certain pink-haired kunoichi. Will she cooperate to his demands or run off with Neji? Alternate Ending! Please R & R
1. Chapter 1: She

**Chapter 1: She's Mine**

"Jaken."

"Yes, Sesshomaru-sama?"

The great dog demon of the western lands walked through the dense forest with his advisor at his heels. As of now, they were searching for a village. Fifty years had passed since Sesshomaru had last taken a mate, and, as it has been for generations, he was to find one within the next couple of days.

"Run off to the nearest village and tell them that this Sesshomaru shall be there shortly in order to...pick up a woman." he ordered, not paying any attention as the annoying imp tripped over a log.

"H-Hai, Sesshomaru-sama! I believe the nearest village is called Konoha." he replied, picking himself off the ground and dusting himself off. Seeing that his lord was still walking, Jaken made his little legs go double their normal speed so that he might be able to catch up. "I'll send the word right away!" With fiery determination in his eyes, the toad demon took off in front of his lord as fast as he could, hoping to reach the village before the Taiyoukai.

This left Sesshomaru to himself. _In all the years that this Sesshomaru has been doing this, not a single woman has produced this Sesshomaru with a pup. If this doesn't change, consequences shall be given to this village._ As if to ensure himself that what he thought was the truth, he placed a clawed hand on the hilt of his Tokijin, and felt it pulsate at his touch.

**Konoha:**

It hadn't taken long for Jaken to make it to the village, but he did have quite the time of getting passed the guards. Eventually, seeing that he was harmless after confiscating his Staff of Two Heads, they let him through in order to have peace from his infernal squawking.

As of now, said toad was now running through the streets of the village, shouting, "The great Sesshomaru-sama is on his way! Ningen! Come out and greet milord as he walks through the town to find his mate!" Eventually, he gained results, not because of his message, oh no. It was his annoying voice that caused people to exit their homes, ready to beat the little guy senseless.

One of the first people to step outside was none other than Tsunade herself, who had snuck away from her office to do a bit of gambling and drinking. She just exited the bar. "What the Hell is the meaning of this!" she roared, making the green demon jump in fear. "Who in Kami's name thinks he is so important that he can disturb the peace of my village?!"

Out of fear of being kicked or something of the sort, Jaken bowed to the ground, spitting out apologies as if it were the only thing keeping him alive.

Another thing that saved him from becoming a part of the Earth's atmosphere, was that two other people came running out on the street, shouting at the Hokage.

"Tsunade-shishou!" shouted the pink-haired girl, holding her master back with her inhuman strength. "What's wrong?"

The other, a black haired boy with silver eyes tended to the demon. "Who are you?" he asked, squatting down to his height.

At this, Jaken immediately stood up, proudly giving his name to the boy. "I am Jaken! I am the advisor of the great Sesshomaru-sama!" In his pride of his position, he thumped his chest with a clenched fist.

Neji stared at him with uninterested eyes. "Never heard of him..."

"Neji-kun! Tsunade-shishou's had too much to drink. We should get her out of here." suggested Sakura, trying to pull her sensei back towards the Hokage Tower.

"Sakura! Sakura! I'm fine!" consoled Tsunade. "I just don't appreciate this little imp coming into my village and disturbing the peace!" The Godaime glared long and hard at poor Jaken, making him cower behind an uncaring Neji.

"So much for a peaceful lunch..." muttered the Hyuga, standing to his full height and dusting the dirt off of his pants. As of five minutes ago, he and Sakura were enjoying a quiet lunch in a cute little restaurant in order to celebrate their one year dating anniversary.

Sakura smiled at her kare. "It's alright, Neji-kun. We'll make it up some other time."

By now, almost every villager was out of their home or occupation in order to see what all the fuss was about. When they saw Jaken, they all turned away to go back to whatever they were doing, but were stopped by a voice. "Jaken. Did you deliver the message?" inquired Sesshomaru, striding through the streets, glancing at every woman he passed.

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama!" replied Jaken, rushing to his lord's side. "I did just as you told me, but I was assaulted by that infernal wench!" he declared, pointing a slender green finger at Tsunade.

"Why you-!" Tsunade struggled to free herself from her student's grip, but in her drunken state, it was pretty much useless.

Sesshomaru glanced at the Hokage uninterestedly, unable to see the figure holding her back. He walked up to Tsunade, calculating everything about her. "Do not harass this Sesshomaru's advisor, on'na. You are in no way fit to be this Sesshomaru's mate. You are too old, and a drinking habit is not fitting for a woman." he told her, ignoring the shouting and ranting of said woman.

Seeing the handsome demon approach the Hokage, Sakura held her grip tight, appreciating when Neji came and helped hold her back.

"Ningen, you may release her. A mere woman cannot harm this Sesshomaru." he confidently stated. Sesshomaru had obviously never dealt with a ninja before...

Sakura and Neji sighed, releasing her, but she didn't move forward. Tsunade only replied, "Why waste my chakra on a guy like you?", before standing next to her apprentice who was holding and shaking her head in disapproval.

Sesshomaru's eyes widened slightly when he laid his eyes on Sakura. In his opinion, she was a young, beautiful ningen, and he would be able to get a lot of years out of her. He looked her up and down, and when he finally approved of what he saw, he walked up to her.

Neji already knew what this guy's intentions were, so he protectively placed himself in front of Sakura, making sure to keep up his eye contact with the stranger. "What do you want with Sakura?" he asked, glaring at the demon, which would've been intimidating to most, but to Sesshomaru, it was nothing.

"This Sesshomaru is in need of a mate, and this...Sakura...she has met this Sesshomaru's standards." he stated plainly.

This time, Sakura put herself in front of Neji. She could feel the power emanating from this guy, and she knew that Neji shouldn't even try to mess with him. "And if I refuse?" she inquired, folding her arms over her torso.

Sesshomaru smirked. "Well, then this village," he gestured to everyone in the town, and then grabbed his Tokijin. "This village will be nothing but rubble. Do you wish to see that happen?" He looked at Sakura's face, which was contorted in fear and anger. That alone was proof enough to tell him that she wouldn't let that happen.

Neji grabbed her shoulder tightly and whispered into her ear. "Sakura, don't do it. We have more than enough force to take him down. We'll be fine." he comforted, trying to calm her down.

Unfortunately, Sesshomaru was able to pick up his consolation with his demonic hearing. "Ningen, to attack me would be most...unwise. This Sesshomaru would kill every person in this village before he even got a scratch." Again, Sesshomaru advanced on Sakura, showing no emotion on his face.

"Someone's awfully cocky now, isn't he?" inquired Tsunade, still intoxicated, but able to understand the conversation quite clearly. "I'm not about to let someone take my surrogate daughter from me. Especially some emphatic bastard such as him. If anyone," she slurred, her intoxication helping her think an argument through. "If anyone, it'll be Hyuga, here." She gestured to Neji, who was red in the face with anger for the newcomer for thinking he could take Sakura away, and embarrassment from Tsunade's comment.

"Yeah! I'm only sixteen! I'm not ready to go off and get... 'mated', as you say!" declared Sakura, glaring at the demon lord with contempt.

Sesshomaru chuckled dryly. "This Sesshomaru is afraid that you have no choice in the matter." Using his demonic speed to get up close before anyone could realize it, Sesshomaru was now only a couple inches away from Sakura. Quickly, he grabbed her arms tightly, so that she wouldn't be able to move, and then he lowered his head to her neck, letting his fangs run along her skin. When he found the spot that he was looking for, he sank his fangs into her flesh, and smirked slightly when he heard her gasp in pain. After tasting a little of her blood, and then inserting some of his being into her, he removed his fangs and wiped anything excess from his mouth.

Seeing what had happened to his Sakura, Neji finally burst in his rage. "That's it!" he roared, pushing his palms against the air. "Hakke Kusho!" The attack hit its mark, but it only moved Sesshomaru a couple of inches, and it clearly wasn't very effective. "No way!" he shouted disbelievingly. Even the toughest opponent would've been through a few feet!

Sesshomaru turned his way, glaring at him. "You are lucky, boy. This Sesshomaru's feeling very lenient today. This Sesshomaru shall not harm you for your impudence, but this girl, this...Sakura... She's mine."

Weak from the sudden attack to her neck, Sakura still spat out, "I belong to no one!". Using some of her chakra to try and heal the wound, and stop the bleeding that resulted from it, Sakura found that there was little she could do. The damn thing wouldn't heal! Suddenly, she found herself becoming tired, and just as she was about to curse out the lord with help from Inner Sakura, she fainted, right into his arms. Without another word, he turned around, and started walking back towards the exit.

Neji still wasn't ready to see his cherry blossom be taken away like that, and so he charged, adding chakra to the soles of his feet to make him go faster. Just as he was about to grab onto Sakura's limp arm, Sesshomaru grabbed his wrist with a free hand and tossed him back towards Tsunade as if he were some light rag doll.

Even in her state, she knew what this meant. Grabbing a little microphone attached to her jacket, Tsunade angrily ordered into it, "I want all ANBU Black Ops squads at the front gates of Konoha. NOW!"

As she issued the order, some random people in trench coats and porcelain masks were already on their way to the designated area. Some had already given chase to the demon, having seen the whole incident take place.

Sesshomaru had heard this, but payed no mind to it. "Come, Jaken." he ordered, not particularly caring if the toad followed him or not. He stopped walking, which surprised everyone who had decided to become a spectator, and didn't bother to wait to see if Jaken was by his side. With Sakura in his arms, and Jaken gripping at the legs of his hakama, he transformed into a violet sphere, and ascended into the sky before rapidly floating off into the western lands.

Seeing that her plan had failed, Tsunade turned to Neji. "Hyuga. Assemble a team and follow them as fast as you can. Make sure you get Kiba and Akamaru to track down his scent." she ordered, looking back at the sky and still seeing the orb in the distance. "Iku ze!"

"Hai!" replied Neji, after finally standing up again. In a flash, he disappeared in a swirl of leaves, off to gather up support so that he might chase after this new opponent, and possible threat.


	2. Chapter 2: Inu Yasha, and Sakura’s Trans

**Chapter 2: Inu Yasha, and Sakura's Transformation**

"Yoshi! We need to save my beautiful cherry blossom from that unyouthful lord!"

"Lee! Shut up!"

"Gomen, Kiba-san..."

As quickly as he could, Neji gathered a team of the most capable ninja in the village.. They were also the only ones left... Kiba was essential, though. With his keen sense of smell, he was able to pick up the scent of Sesshomaru and his little green follower, and was able to trace it through the forest.

The team consisted of these ninja, hand picked by Neji himself; Inuzuka Kiba with Akamaru, Rock Lee, Aburame Shino, Hyuga Hinata, and Nara Shikamaru. Why these ninja? Well, Kiba for his sense of smell and direction, Lee for his speed and Taijutsu, Shino for his insects, Hinata for her medical experience, and Shikamaru for his intellect.

"P-please you two. We need to focus on Sakura-san. This is a rescue mission." Hinata earnestly appealed. Sakura was her friend and mentor, and in her studies, she had heard a little about this "Sesshomaru".

"Alright, Hinata-chan." soothed Kiba, flashing her a smile and showing off his canines.

Neji had ignored everyone until that point. Between Lee's constant vociferations about youth and Kiba's irritated responses, and the occasional barks from Akamaru, it was a wonder that he hadn't gone mad yet...

"Hinata-sama, when I told you of Sakura's abduction, and her abductor, you said you knew of him. Who is he, and what's his weakness?" inquired Neji, wanting to know everything he could about this man.

"W-well Neji-itoko, Sesshomaru is a demon lord, a Taiyoukai. As far as our records date back, there has been mention of a "Sesshomaru", each a Taiyoukai." she explained. Other than that, she only knew a few facts.

Neji thought for a moment. By the sound of what his cousin was telling him, this "Sesshomaru" could be hundreds of years old. But, he didn't look a day over twenty. And a demon? There were myths about powerful demons that ruled over the world, but never had they been encountered before.

"What's his weakness?" he repeated.

"Neji-itoko, if this is in fact the great Taiyoukai, ruler of the western lands, he has none. He is extremely cunning, strong, and ruthless." she informed, almost reluctantly. "The only one who might be strong enough to engage in a battle with him might be his brother. I-I believe his name was Inu Yasha."

"And what? Do we expect this 'Inu Yasha' to pop out of thin air?" sarcastically asked Shikamaru, having listened in on the conversation.

"Uh, guys? We have company..." warned Kiba, having caught another scent in the area. It wasn't long before they could hear voices a little bit away.

"-the Hell is Sesshomaru doing in the area!?" angrily shouted a voice.

"Probably searching for Naraku like the rest of us, Inu Yasha." reminded another.

"Well, if that teme interferes, I'll kill him!" declared the first voice, who was apparently Inu Yasha.

"Well would you look at that. Right out of thin air..."laughed Kiba as Shikamaru slapped his palm to his forehead.

For a second, the voices stopped, and when they did, the ninja all stopped their jumping through the trees.

"Hey!" Inu Yasha hollered. "Come out an' show yourselves! I can smell ya, so if you don't come out I'll come in after ya!" he declared.

Kiba laughed and replied, "Yeah? Well you don't smell that great yourself! Right, Akamaru?"

A bark answered back.

"Why you-!"

Before he could finish his sentence, Neji and Shikamaru jumped down from the trees, followed by Hinata, Shino, Lee, and Kiba, with Akamaru contained in his jacket.

"Well, since Kiba gave away our position," Shino started, glaring at Kiba, though it couldn't be seen from behind his glasses. "You won't have to come after us."

"Who the Hell are you?" demanded the red clad half demon.

"Does that really matter?" inquired Shikamaru. "Apparently we have a common enemy. This 'Sesshomaru' character. We hear that he's your brother."

Inu Yasha scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Keh, half brother, actually. What's he done now?"

Neji stepped up to Inu Yasha, looking him straight in the eye. "He's stolen a comrade. She is very important to us, and to our village."

Inu Yasha only scoffed again. "Heh, sorry kid, but I can't help ya. We're already on a mission."

"K-kudasai, I-Inu Yasha-san. From what our records show, y-you're the only one who's capable of defeating him. Kudasai." pleaded Hinata, surprising everyone. She wasn't known to persuade people she didn't know, and of all times to grow a backbone, it was now.

Inu Yasha blinked when he heard Hinata. Upon receiving the compliment, he blushed and looked away. "Yeah, well..."

"Hai, Inu Yasha-san! It would truly express your youthful power!"

"Lee! What the Hell did I say about shutting up!?"

"Gomen, Kiba-san..."

"Come on, InuYasha. Let's help them out. They really seem to want their friend back." observed one of the girls in the group.

"Yeah, Inu Yasha. Can't you ever do anything that would help others instead of yourself?" asked a small child with a poofy tail behind him.

"Inu Yasha, Kagome-sama and Shippo have a point." expressed the purple clad monk.

"For once I agree with Miroku."

"Why thank you, my dear Sango!" thanked Miroku, moving to "touch" Sango's bottom, before he was cut off with a sharp smack in the face.

"Hentai!" screamed Sango.

"So will you help us or not?" asked Neji, appearing not to care either way.

"I don't see why I should." huffed Inu Yasha.

"Osuwari!" shouted Kagome, glaring at Inu Yasha as he created a crater in the ground. She smiled sweetly at the group of ninja. "Of course we'll help you."

A small two-tailed cat padded up to Hinata and mewed cutely, scaring Hinata. "Th-that's the Nibi!" she exclaimed. "What's she doing here?"

Sango looked confused. "Nibi?" She giggled slightly. "Don't worry. That's only Kirara. I think she really likes you. She's a really good judge of character." Sango smiled at Hinata. "Besides, Kirara is a two-tailed fire cat. There are probably hundreds more of her family still left in the world."

Hinata looked back down at Kirara, who tilted her head in confusion as to why the human before her was being so jumpy. "Mew."

In only a matter of seconds, Hinata grew a smile, and placed her hand in front of the small neko, allowing her to get used to her scent. When she was sure it was safe to interact with her, Hinata scooped her up in her arms and stroked her soft fur, giggling when Kirara started to purr.

Finally crawling back out of his crater, Inu Yasha added, "Good judge of character or not! I still say no!"

"OSUWARI!"

And back into his crater he went...

"Iku ze! Let's go find your friend." kindly added Kagome, smiling at the group before her.

**With Sakura:**

The rosette's eyes started to flutter as her captor drew near their destination. Out of the corner of her eye, she was able to see some sort of pink dome ahead of them, but she wasn't sure if she should question it for fear that it was only her blurred vision. Suddenly, everything that had conspired in the last two hours hit her like a ton of bricks, and that woke her up immediately.

She started to struggle in her captor's grip, desperately wishing that she was back in Konoha safely enjoying a nice lunch with Neji. When she struggled, his grip only tightened.

"You will refrain from trying to escape, on'na. There is nowhere you can go." chided Sesshomaru with a bored expression on his face.

Upon closing her eyes again, Sakura was able to estimate that she had a lot of chakra left in her. She also felt some new kind of power, but there was no explanation to it, and that puzzled her. Using her chakra levels to her advantage, Sakura formed a single hand sign, muttering out, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!", and therefore creating three copies of herself.

"Sesshomaru-sama! Watch out!" exclaimed Jaken, in turn receiving a kick that sent him tumbling into the forest below.

Each Sakura clone hovered in the air for a second, before charging at Sesshomaru. This startled him slightly, causing him to loosen his grip enough for the original Sakura to escape, and free fall into the forest below.

With mild ease, Sesshomaru was able to reduce the clones to clouds of smoke in an instant. When he finally realized that Sakura wasn't in his grasp, he looked down to see her hopping along the tree-line, heading back towards Konoha.

"Damn that insolent wench." cursed Sesshomaru, forcing his cloud to turn around and chase after her.

When Sakura had touched the tree-line she took off running as fast as she could, not wanting to look over her shoulder to see how much distance there was between them. When she heard the imp fall from the cloud, she giggled a little bit, but didn't let it distract her.

Sesshomaru was slightly surprised at the girls speed. There was no way that the demon essence he inserted inside her was already kicking in. It would take a few hours for the full power to come to her, at least. So where was her speed coming from?

When he got close enough, he could smell her fear, and that made him smirk. She was wise to fear him. It might just keep her alive. When he got even closer, he could tell that she knew he was there, judging from the way she tensed up.

"On'na, there's no where for you to run." he stated, lunging for her arm. He was able to grab it and pull her back onto the cloud, but when she landed, a cloud of smoke surrounded her, and in her place was a log.

Upon seeing that it was a fake, Sesshomaru sensed something coming from behind him, and immediately turned around, making sure that his poison claws were ready. It wouldn't kill her, but it would definitely make her immobile until her demon started to transform her.

His claws connected, and his smirk grew when he heard her groan in pain. She landed at his feet, and in her hand, he saw a kunai, which could have been plunged into his back. Not that it would have done much damage anyway...

"Face it, on'na. You can't escape from this Sesshomaru." He grabbed a handful of her hair, forcing her to rise to her feet. When she weakly looked at him in the eye, he only confirmed in his mind what he had always thought about humans. "All of you. You're all weak. This Sesshomaru curses the one who did this to me."

Sakura was in no condition to answer, and as the pink dome grew nearer, she began to think that he was right. That would be her prison, but she knew ways of escape that people could only dream of. And for that, she would thank all of the crazy missions that Tsunade sent her on.

Without even batting an eye, Sesshomaru entered the barrier put in front of him. It surrounded his palace, and though it hurt his body to go through it, he could take it. He had it established so that when his captured women would go through their transformations, their demon side would refuse to let them exit the barrier, by causing them a mass amount of pain whenever they touched it.

Sakura felt a tingling feeling in her body, but as soon as they were through the barrier, it ended. Immediately, she felt better, as if she had never been struck at all.

Sesshomaru landed in the courtyard, pushing Sakura to the ground to get her to move. "This Sesshomaru sees that your demon has already become a part of you. Never in this Sesshomaru's lifetime has this happened so quickly." He began to ponder it, but could find no explanation.

Not only could he sense Sakura's power increase, but even her physical features had changed. Her pink hair had grown out, about down to her hips, she now had fangs and claws, and her eye color went from emerald to forest green.

Sakura picked herself up, glaring at Sesshomaru as she did so. "You will regret this. I will **never** be yours!" she declared, spatting at his feet.

"As this Sesshomaru told you before, on'na, you have no choice in the matter."

"Again with the 'on'na'! That's not my name! My name's Sakura! Address me as so!"

Sesshomaru growled and rushed at her, grabbing her by the neck and pinning her against a nearby wall. "This Sesshomaru will not tolerate such behavior. This Sesshomaru gives the orders, not you. You **will** obey this Sesshomaru!"

Concentrating her chakra into her hands, she grabbed onto Sesshomaru's wrist, and pried it off of her neck, completely shocking him with her power. Not even another demon could escape from his grip, so why this girl could, he had no idea.

"I obey no such person." she declared, wincing as she felt pain in her neck. Already, just from the tightness of his grip, bruises were forming. With only a single hand sign, Sakura allowed her chakra to reenter her palm, and placed it around her neck, in order to perform the Shosen Jutsu. "If you think that I can be intimidated by you from that little display," she stated. "You're wrong. There's only one person on this Earth whom I fear most, and it's not you."

While trying to process Sakura's words, Sesshomaru could only gawk at her. Never had a woman stood up to him like _that_. The only other woman to even challenge him was Inu Yasha's wench, but only once or twice, and it was never anything like Sakura. Finally, he was able to talk.

"What makes you so strong, on'na?" he asked, looking away from her.

"I'll punch your lights out if you don't call me by my name..." was her reply.

Again, Sesshomaru growled. He did not like his authority being challenged by his new woman. But, his quest for knowledge was so great, he finally caved. "What makes you so strong, _Sakura_?"

Sakura only stared at him. "What? You've never encountered the shinobi from Konoha?" When he didn't answer, she continued. "Well, I'm a chuunin rank ninja. Though, I'm considered a junin rank medic nin. The ranks of the society are genin, chuunin, junin, ANBU, then the Hokage, who is the most powerful ninja in the village..." She started to trail off.

'_**That teme! Thanks to him, I'll never be able to return to Konoha!' **_raged Inner Sakura. The thought brought tears to her eyes. _**'And the jonin exams were coming up, too! I was going to become a jonin! I've been training for months!'**_

Sesshomaru could smell the salt water welling up in her eyes, and crying was definitely one thing that he could not tolerate. "Enough crying. This Sesshomaru will not tolerate it." he warned. "Now, how do you 'shinobi' ascend through the ranks?"

Sakura obtained a sad smile on her face. "We go through exams when we are ready. Some die, others make it to the next rank. It's heart wrenching to see a comrade or friend come to the hospital with a life threatening injury from the exams..." She wiped the falling tears from her cheeks, and sniveled. "I was due to take the exams next month...with Neji-kun..."

Sesshomaru tensed up at the sound of the prefix. "If this man, this _Neji_ is a distraction to you during your time here, this Sesshomaru will personally track him down and have him killed."

This time, Sakura's eyes widened, and she let the tears fall freely from her face. If anything happened to Neji, it would be on her head, but she couldn't let him know that she was afraid of that. From the second that look crossed her face, it changed from a calm and serene one. "Neji-kun won't be taken down that easily. At all times, he is surrounded by the most capable shinobi. My _friends_. All of which have equal or more strength than myself."

The dog demon smirked. "Hehe. All the better, then. If your friends are eliminated, there will be no distractions. If you intend to keep them alive, this Sesshomaru expects all of his orders to be followed..."


	3. Chapter 3: Finally Caught, and Shippo's

**Chapter 3: Finally Caught, and Shippo's New Ability**

Sakura only smirked at this man's insolence. "I wouldn't sound so sure of myself if I were you, Sesshomaru," she warned. "Shinobi are experts in the art of deception, and in many cases, silent kill. If you can't even handle me, than what chance do stand against my friends? We're all different. With different clans, come different abilities, and if you're against one from every clan, well, your chances of survival are slim."

"A youkai is more than a match for your illusions," he growled at her, his eyes starting to become tainted red.

"No illusions..." she replied. She realized that she still had her weapons pouch with her, and with quick movements, she grabbed two explosive tags. "Just skill..." With that, she thrust the tags at Sesshomaru's feet, and, forming a hand sign and shouting, "Kai!", they exploded, creating a think barrier of smoke, and a perfect way to conceal herself.

"Wench!" he roared through the smoke. "Your scent lingers wherever you go! Wherever you hide, I will find you!"

But even as he said it, Sakura had already disappeared into the palace, after creating multiple Kage Bunshin to distract the demon lord.

**With Inu Yasha & Neji:**

"I-Inu Yasha-san, how much further is this palace?"

"Don't worry Hinata-chan! In the springtime of youth, we will be able to cover any distance!"

"Lee! Leave Hinata-chan out of your stupid youth obsession!"

"Demo, Kiba-san!"

"Would the two of you just shut up!? You've been at it like that for almost an hour!" roared Neji, finally having enough of the two shinobi.

"Keh, my thoughts exactly, kid," agreed Inu Yasha, carrying Kagome on his back.

Sango, Miroku and Shippo followed behind on Kirara's back, while the six ninja jumped through the trees in front of them. While they didn't say anything, Sango and Miroku thought that it was quite funny the way the two argued. Though they were a bit strange, no one really questioned anything. Still, they were on their guard incase they would turn on them for some reason.

Shippo, being the curious little kitsune youkai that he was, bounded off of Kirara in order to travel with the ninja. It took some work for the little guy, but he was able to make it to Hinata. Unfortunately, he couldn't keep up with her pace for very long, and quickly tired out, causing him to lose his balance and fall.

Hinata saw this, and with quick reflexes and precision, she was able to turn herself around and catch Shippo before he fell to the ground down below.

"A-Are you okay, Shippo-san?" she asked, reverting back to her original pace after catching up with the others. He was in her arms, and quickly made his way to perch on her back.

"Hai. But you don't have to keep calling me 'Shippo-san'. I'd rather just be called 'Shippo'." he told her. He really liked Hinata; she was really nice, almost like Kagome. It was facts like that, that made it hard for him to understand why she was traveling with all of those boys, who mostly were reserved and didn't speak much... Well, except for the one's who were constantly fighting.

Hinata smiled softly at the kit. "A-Alright, Shippo," she agreed. She noticed that they were starting to fall behind her teammates. "Shippo, hold on. We need to catch up with everyone else," she warned him, allowing him to nod his agreement before she did anything. Of course, his nod was more like an understanding, and in his fear, he visibly gulped...

With a burst of chakra to her heels, Hinata sped up just a bit, and flipped to the next branch, worrying because Shippo was wailing. Luckily, she caught up in a matter of seconds, but even when she resumed her normal stride, Shippo still cried, having not realized that they were no longer flipping...

Kiba had glanced back at Hinata after hearing Shippo's screams, and fell back to jump alongside her. He gave a toothy grin at Shippo, and Akamaru barked, finding the situation amusing.

"Hey, kid," started Kiba. "She's just jumping now. Not flipping. You don't have to keep screaming like that,"

Immediately after hearing himself being referred to as, "kid", Shippo stopped his whimpering, and glared at Kiba. "My name's Shippo... Not 'kid'..." he muttered, intensifying his glare as Kiba just laughed at his statement.

They were interrupted by Inu Yasha's voice ahead of them. "Alright, I recognize the area, but we've got company..." he growled, jumping to the ground and letting Kagome off of his back. They were now in a small clearing, large enough for the battle that was surely going to take place.

Everyone else stopped behind him, and also jumped down to the ground.

Neji activated his Byakugan, and scanned the area. "I see at least two hundred moving physical structures, coming from the west. They're not human..." he reported, looking back at his teammates.

"Keh, well of course they're not human. Demons, kid, and so many at once coming for us... Must mean it's Naraku, or even Kagura," he replied, grasping the hilt of his sword, Tessaiga. "I hope you kids can defend yourselves, 'cause I'm not gonna let you get in my way."

"No need to worry about us," replied Neji, taking his stance.

Shikamaru had already taken into careful consideration what his plan was, and had removed a kunai from his weapon's pouch, as did everyone else, excluding Lee, who instead assumed his own stance.

"Get ready!" shouted Inu Yasha, unsheathing Tessaiga.

Kagome had somehow obtained a bow and arrow, and was aiming in the same direction that Inu Yasha was, while Sango gripped her Hiraikotsu. Miroku fidgeted with the charms around his wind tunnel, and Shippo scampered over to hide behind Kirara, who was growling and bearing her fangs.

"Get ready, Akamaru,"warned Kiba, glancing at his dog from the side of his eye. The large dog barked in compliance.

Shino let a few of his insects wander out of his body, having them at the ready.

All at once, the demons appeared, with two figures in the lead; one was crouched on a large off-white feather, while the other floated in mid-air.

The one floating spoke out coldly. "Inu Yasha," he scoffed. "I see that you have acquired more forces, ne? No matter. Weak ningen are no match for me." The deranged hanyou allowed his arm to morph into a spear-like tentacle. "Kagura, go!" he ordered.

Though the wind sorceress did so reluctantly, she pulled her fan out of her kimono, and began an onslaught of Fujin no Mai, mostly directed at the shinobi as a distraction.

With relative ease, the six shinobi avoided the attack altogether, and safely made it back up on the tree-line.

With only a gesture from their master, the gathering of demons began to attack the group, who only took them out as they came.

Though the shinobi of Konoha had not battled with a demon before, it didn't stop them from taking out multiple fiends at a time.

"Jujin Bunshin!" cried Kiba, causing Akamaru to transform into an almost exact replica of himself. Running alongside one another, they both shouted out, "Gatsuga!", and in doing so, destroyed multiple demons with their spiral barrage.

Hinata and Neji were both using Jyuuken, finding that though the demons did not posses chakra points, they were easily taken out by pressing pressure points that controlled their blood flow, and in blocking them, the blood flow stopped, and the demons were then finding their way to the Netherworld.

Shikamaru was having minimal problems with his opponents, and they were easily taken out with Kage Shibari no Jutsu. Shino was faring just as well with his parasitic insects.

Naraku watched, fascinated with the shinobi's fighting style. As tempting as it was to go down and battle with them, the risks were to great. Although, he had no qualms about sending Kagura down to fight.

"Kagura, get down there,"he ordered, not bothering to look at his incarnation.

Kagura only stared back at her master, and before he had to tell her again, which would definitely result in her later punishment, she sighed and joined the battle, deciding to go against Shikamaru. She had noticed that he seemed to have power over shadows, but up where she was, there could be no possible way that he could reach her. "Fujin no Mai,"

Shikamaru was able to dodge the attack easily, and began to formulate a new plan for taking on the Kaze Youkai. Thinking about her power over the wind, his thoughts drifted back to his match against Temari in the Chuunin Exams. It was a very similar situation.

With the kunai in his hand, he sent it flying towards Kagura's feather with lightning speed. Unable to avoid it, Kagura ended up with a kunai embedded in her leg, and a hole in her feather, causing it to drift slowly to the ground.

"Keh, you kids aren't half bad," remarked Inu Yasha, taking out a good fraction of the demons with his Bakuryuha.

In the background, one could hear Lee taking out demons with his Taijutsu. "Konoha Senpu!"

With Kagome shooting her purifying arrows, Miroku's wind tunnel, Sango's Hiraikotsu, and Kirara's fangs ripping at the throats of the lesser demons, it was only a matter of time before all that were left were Naraku and Kagura, the latter still struggling in her battle against Shikamaru, who currently had her in Kage Shibari no Jutsu.

Naraku, seeing the strength in the shinobi, and how he was the only one left capable of fighting, said to the group below, "I am not vain. Against so many of immense power, I am useless. Be forewarned, however, I will return with more demons than before." With that, he transported himself back to his manor, that still remained undetected and hidden from all.

Kagura still remained, trying her best to fight off whatever had a hold on her, but being unable to move, it was pretty much futile. Just as she was about to accept defeat, and curse Naraku's name for leaving her behind (like she already didn't curse it), she was released, and collapsed to the ground. Surprised, she looked up at Shikamaru, who only walked up to stand in front of her.

"You should get up, and return to wherever you came from," he said, staring into her red eyes.

Kagura tried to hide her obvious unaware by looking away from him. "Why would I want to? I'd rather be killed than return to that..."

"I would happily do the honors," growled Inu Yasha, still holding his Tessaiga and preparing to strike.

"Inu Yasha..." said Kagome in a warning tone, causing the inu hanyou to freeze up with the fear of what may come to him.

Kagura ignored them. "But why? Why would you spare me?" she asked, finding no explanation to why she should have been kept alive. Even though Naraku held her heart in his hand, she could still die if put under the right circumstances, like blood loss, or the other normal methods of dying, excluding sickness. If they really wanted to, they could kill her.

Shikamaru continued to stare at her. "You remind me of a troublesome woman who I fought about four years ago. Not that you look a thing like her... Her jutsu and control over wind are similar to yours." The shadow user looked up at the sky, watching as a few clouds passed overhead. "Besides... Why kill someone if it isn't necessary? I find it to be extremely troublesome..."

Kagura had no time to reply, as Neji intervened. "Shikamaru, leave her. We must keep moving." He turned to Inu Yasha, who sheathed Tessaiga, and nodded in agreement. "Lead the way, Inu Yasha-san."

Inu Yasha tried to locate his brother's scent from the cornucopia of lesser demons'. Finally, he found it, and after having Kagome get on his back, and Sango and Miroku mount Kirara, he started off in it's direction.

Shippo had once again decided to perch on Hinata's shoulder, and this time he was determined not to yell out.

"As I was saying before the demons attacked, I recognize the area. We should reach Sesshomaru's palace by the time the sun reaches its peak tomorrow." he told them. "We'll go on a little further before we rest for the night. I want to put some distance between us and Kagura."

Though the ninja were reluctant to agree to Inu Yasha's decision to stop and make camp for the night, they eventually allied to it. It was logical to stop and rest, because if Neji and Hinata weren't glamorizing the Taiyoukai's strength, they'd need it if he was going to put up a fight for Sakura.

**With Sakura:**

_Alright... So he's found a couple of my clones... I still have... Chikuso, I'm the only 'me' left..._

Sakura had transported herself into the palace after creating her clones. Judging from the way each of them disappeared when Sesshomaru found them, she was definitely not going to be greeted kindly when he found her... Currently, she was hiding in a large bedroom, under the bed...

Said inu youkai was searching for her now in the palace as well. After finding each clone, which he believed was Sakura, he would claw her backside, in order to punish her for defying him, but when he'd connect, the clone would disappear into a cloud of smoke, only infuriating him further.

Currently, he was having his servants search for the pink-haired demoness.

"Damn that wench... She's faster than I gave her credit for, but this Sesshomaru will find her, and make her learn her place..." he declared, catching onto her scent yet again.

The scent took him through a massive maze of hallways and chambers, but eventually, he was lead to his bedroom.

Sakura heard someone open the door, and though she had the urge to squeal in fear, she suppressed it, and instead decided to cast a genjutsu over the room, before whoever it was could make their way over to the bed. And, she had just the right genjutsu in mind...

As Sesshomaru walked into the room, Sakura appeared before him almost instantaneously.

"Bitch, you will learn your place!" he roared upon seeing her, trying to slash at her with his claws. But as he was about to land the blow, she began to disappear in wisps of an almost smoke-like substance, starting with her feet.

"What is this!?" From the floor itself, a massive tangle of roots and vines surrounded the body of the Taiyoukai, leaving him pinned to the great tree that had inevitably formed in his room.

"_I've got you..._" whispered Sakura's voice through the tree. And, materializing from said tree, the kunoichi held in her hand a kunai, and with a fluid movement, she slit Sesshomaru's throat, but still, he did not appear to be taking any sort of damage.

Almost as soon as the tree had trapped him, Sesshomaru was released, and standing in his room, appearing to have nothing out of place. But, as strange as the tree appearing out of nowhere was, what was even stranger was that the ground began to shake under his feet.

Just as she had materialized out of the tree, Sakura came into being from the ground, only in a much larger form of Inner Sakura. She grabbed the surprised demon in her fist, holding him tightly as he began to struggle, almost breaking free.

"_**Things will get ugly if you make me angry!**_"she bellowed, using both of her hands to grasp him, and squeeze the life out of him like she had done to many other opponents on many other different occasions.

But instead of having him rendered unconscious, like what usually happened now that her skills were more developed, he picked himself up off the ground, and advanced towards her, red bleeding into his eyes.

Sakura was amazed; even the most advanced ninja would have trouble walking for awhile after being controlled like that. Definitely, this guy was stronger than she had originally given him credit for...

"What the hell was that, wench!?" he howled, advancing upon her with his claws at the ready, glowing green from the poison laced within them.

Though slightly in fear of what he might do to her, Sakura was more angry than anything else to even show her fear. Though her tone was unemotional, she replied, "Genjutsu,". In a small cloud of smoke, she appeared out in the middle of the room, standing in front of Sesshomaru. "It meddles with your mind, creating an almost alternate reality. Though, it can be broken if the victim has enough physical and mental strength... It doesn't look like it had much effect on you, Sesshomaru..." With this, she was slightly disappointed; Tsunade, though an expert on curing illnesses of the mind, had told her recently that she was now superior in Genjutsu than the Godaime ever was... But that only meant that Sesshomaru was stronger than most ninja...

"To you, it is Sesshomaru-sama. I am not to be addressed so informally, especially by a lowly ningen..." he spat, glaring at the rosette nin.

"I give respect only to those who deserving of it, Sesshomaru... So far, kidnaping me and holding me prisoner here is not, in my opinion, worthy of respect." she stated, glaring harder at the Taiyoukai.

Sesshomaru smirked at her fiery attitude, though it angered him to no end. "Well, wench, you'll have fifty years to think about that, as there is no way that you'll be able to escape from here. You're demon side will not let you through that barrier, lest you wish to end up purified like all of the others..."

It was Sakura's turn to smirk. "You have again made it obvious that you've never encountered a shinobi. I **will** escape from here, and there will be nothing you can do about it. I **will** enter the Junin exams at the end of the month. I **will** be free of you!"

"Free from here, unlikely... Free from me, impossible..." He gestured to the bite mark on her neck. "That mark declares that I have accepted you as mine. As long as that mark is on your neck, you are forever linked to me. If this Sesshomaru so chooses, he can remove it, but that would be out of the question."

Sakura was enraged even more by that statement, and was about to slam a fist full of concentrated chakra into the floor to shatter it under Sesshomaru's feet, but found that her chakra stores were low. In fact, the fatigue came at her so suddenly, she collapsed right to the ground.

'_Chikuso... I used up most of my chakra creating clones and using that Genjutsu... Not to mention all of the running I did... Watashi wa no baka-desu...' _she criticized in her mind.

"So, even you shinobi have a limit... That's good to know..." muttered Sesshomaru, picking Sakura up by the hair. "Well then, we must keep your energy low, so that you won't pose problems for this Sesshomaru..." With that, he dragged her to the room across from his, and tossed her onto the bed inside, hearing her groan as she made contact with the bedding.

Slamming the door shut behind him, Sesshomaru exited the room, making his way down to his study.

**With Inu Yasha & Neji:**

They had stopped to make camp not even an hour ago, and already the camp was set up, and everyone was preparing a small meal to restore their lost energy with.

From the bags that they carried with them, the shinobi each grabbed some sort of instant food, or another; ramen, food pills, a bag of chips... And at the instant it was pulled out of the bag, the group that they sat with all gasped; it was the exact same sort of stuff that Kagome brought back from her time! Well, excluding the food pills...

Inu Yasha was the first to point out the obvious. "What the Hell!? How is it that you have all of this stuff? I didn't question your clothing, but all of this food! Only Kagome has access to this! How did you get it!?"

Neji looked at Inu Yasha like he was stupid. "We brought them from our village... As for clothing, we should be asking you the same thing! Kagome-san and Sango-san are the closest things to normal out of all of you!"

By referring to Sango, he was talking about her slayers' uniform.

Kagome stared at him skeptically. "So, what you're saying is that where you live, more people are dressed like this?" she inquired, hoping that the answer was a "yes".

"Hai, that is correct, Kagome-san." replied Neji, staring at her exhasperatedly.

Hinata looked at Kagome. "Kagome-san, I've noticed that your pack is running out of supplies. As a thanks for helping us, when this is over you are welcome to replenish and rest at our village." she offered, glancing down at Shippo who was contentedly sitting on her lap.

"A-Arigato, Hinata-chan!" squealed Kagome, ecstatic with the thought of sleeping in a bed, and getting to have a normal bath.

A quiet rustling caught Shippo's attention, and, though he was slightly fearful of what could be inside the bush it was coming from, his curiosity overwhelmed him, and he jumped off of Hinata's lap, making his way to the bush.

Shippo's sudden movement resulted in all eyes catching attention to the bush, and all were now tensed up, ready to fight if the situation called for it.

But all that came out of the bush was a kitsune, young, but full size. Almost silently, save for the soft crunching of leaves as it walked, it padded its way to Shippo, who only gazed at it with slight fear, but extreme wonder.

'_Ah, so you are the young kit that everyone's been talking about.'_

Shippo frantically turned his head in multiple directions, trying to find the source of the smooth voice in his head.

'_I am the one addressing you, young Shippo. The kitsune before you is the one speaking. I have heard about your struggle, and I wish to provide some assistance.' _it said, staring at him through his eyes.

"What d-do you mean?" stuttered Shippo, unaware that he was the only one who could hear the voice.

'_If you have failed to notice, your tail is about to split in two. That marks the milestone of your power. You have grown, in both wisdom, and in strength, since you started your journey with the hanyou and his friends. However,'_ it paused, glancing at the group staring at it. _'You no longer have the guidance of your family to aide you. You must rely on your friends, and exercise your abilities so that you may become stronger. I am now your guardian, and your guide in this training.'_

"Training? My tail?" questioned the kitsune demon. He glanced back at the tail in question, and pulled it up in front of him to get a better look at it. Sure enough, its tip was slightly parted, and there was no doubt that it would soon split, just like the fox before him had stated.

"Oi, Shippo! Who the hell 're you talkin' to?" questioned Inu Yasha, looking at the kid like he was crazy.

Almost trance-like, Shippo turned to Inu Yasha, and said, "My guardian..."

It was then, that his tail split in two...


	4. Chapter 4: Finally

**Chapter 4: Finally...**

The Haruno awoke slowly the next morning, still low on chakra, yet having an extreme burst of energy. Though there was much desire to make use of that energy, Sakura decided against it, instead forming a hand sign to accumulate what chakra she did have, and going into a meditative-like state. However, that was short lived when the door flew open, and someone walked into the room.

"Infernal wench!" squawked the individual, trying to sound threatening. "Sesshomaru-sama fainted after throwing you in here! What did you do to him!?"

Sakura refused to open her eyes, trying to drown out the little creature. "Ah, so you're that Jaken character I met in Konoha..." She smirked, remembering the green figure. "So my genjutsu did have some effect on him after all... That's very useful information. Arigato, Jaken-san," she said, causing the little imp to go into a fit of hysterics.

"There's no way a mere on'na could do such a thing to milord!" he denied, pointing accusingly at the pink-haired ninja. "How dare you lie to me!"

The medic cracked open a single eye, glaring down at the toad youkai. "Do you wish to suffer the same fate? You do not seem nearly as strong as Sesshomaru, so you'd most likely end up in an eternal coma... That is, until I'd decide to release the genjutsu..." she threatened.

Jaken stepped back defensively. If she truly was capable of such power, then he wouldn't want to be the one who she would take her anger out on... Sputtering out incoherent words of nonsense, the imp scuttled out of the room in a hurry.

She remained undisturbed for the next hour or so, and found that she was recovering her chakra at a rapid pace. Where it would've taken at least twelve hours to have her chakra even halfway restored, it only took that hour. She had enough chakra in her to go through the genjutsu she placed over Sesshomaru at least three times, but she wasn't going to test her limits...

Her meditation was finally disturbed, however, when a knock on the bedroom door met her ears. Slowly, and without waiting for an answer, a young woman poked her head through the door. She looked no older than Sakura, in fact.

"Ohayo, milady. My name is Mari. I am to be your assistant in your time here,"she cautiously stated, having heard of Sakura's power and rage through other servants. The maids knew practically everything that went on in the palace... It was kind of scary at times...

Sakura opened her eyes to look at the young woman, relieved to finally hear another female's voice.

"Ah, ohayo, Mari-san. Call me Sakura, kudasai. I would preferably not be referred to as "milady"... I'll never be that stuck up bastard's lady..." she spat, a surge of anger flashing through her eyes.

"Sakura-san... I would refrain from doing that. Sesshomaru-sama will punish anyone who defies him," she explained softly, almost fearfully. "I would not wish something terrible to befall you in your time here."

Sakura smirked. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Mari. I don't plan on being here long," she replied, not completely trusting Mari enough to give her information on her escape plan.

Mari looked shocked to say the least. "D-Demo, Sakura-san, it's impossible! Your new demon nature will not allow that to happen! The only way out of here is through the barrier!"

Sakura had been thinking about that barrier while she was meditating, and it was puzzling to say the least, but also extremely simple.

"I can get through it..." she mumbled. "If Sesshomaru can get through it, so can I. I didn't spend my whole life training to be a kunoichi just to have all of that experience go down the drain now. I can get through that barrier."

Mari looked at Sakura curiously. No one had ever had the much fire when they were brought to the castle. Mari was definitely older than she appeared to be. She was present at the palace when Sesshomaru was first required to take a woman every fifty years. And that was over seven hundred years ago...

In those seven hundred years, Mari had been nothing more than a servant, which was just a sugarcoated word for "slave". The woman who let themselves be purified only did so after they could no longer take being with Sesshomaru. All in all, they committed suicide. And, Mari, being a demon, never took the chance of going through the barrier. She wanted to live, and as of yet, her life wasn't exactly torture, but she did want to escape. And Sakura could be the one to help her...

"Sakura-san," she whispered, so that she might not be overheard by listening ears who died for information to tell either Jaken or Sesshomaru. "Though I'm not going to get my hopes up, if you were to get through, would you, perhaps, be able to take me with you?"

Sakura had not expected Mari to ask her such a thing. She fully expected a lecture of how it would be impossible, or how she would be immensely punished for trying to escape, but never to help someone else escape with her.

"Why would you risk it, Mari? Wouldn't you be punished far worse than me?" inquired the kunoichi, trying to read Mari's face for deceit, finding none.

"I have been a servant here for over seven hundred years, Sakura-san. And by servant, I mean slave. I have always wished to escape from here, but never had such an opportunity arise," explained the demoness.

Sakura looked alarmed. "S-Seven _hundred_ years!?" she exclaimed.

Mari chuckled lightly. "Hai. I am kame youkai. I have a shell, but, I can shift it into impenetrable clothing, and a have an extremely long life-span. However, if you haven't noticed, I am very cautious..." She paused. "My main reason for escaping, is that I was taken from my family. I do not know where they are, but if we ever were to meet, we'd know that we have relations."

After letting the information sink in a little longer, Sakura finally agreed. "Alright. However, I will not tell you when we would go through with this. I'm not exactly sure I can trust you, Mari. Gomen."

Mari nodded. "That is perfectly understandable, Sakura-san,"she agreed.

"Be ready for it, Mari,"warned Sakura. With a smile, she added, "And, drop the honorific, kudasai."

"Demo, Sakura-san, what about Sesshomaru-sama? I would surely be punished for showing such disrespect in your presence,"she argued, never having someone request such a thing of her.

"Only in another's presence will I allow you to call me Sakura-san. When it's just us, Sakura will do just fine,"she declared with a smile, which Mari happily accepted.

"Hai! Arigato, Sakura!" thanked the turtle demon, quickly running out of the room. (A/N: Yeah, I know, ironic, isn't it?)

Sakura smiled to herself when Mari had gone. As she heard the footsteps die down, she thought to herself, _'It looks like I may have a potential ally. Though, her story did sound a little unbelievable...'_ The Haruno refused to talk aloud, because if what Mari had said was true, someone could be listening in on her...

With little more than a few more thoughts, Sakura had finally decided that she would work on chakra gathering a little each day, until her ninja strength fully returned. When it finally would return to her, she would break through the barrier, and keep running until she reached the safety of Konoha.

For now, however, she would wash her face, and make her way outside to get a good feel for the barrier's power.

She walked up to the mirror that sat on one of the dressers in the room, as was her normal morning routine, and it took all of her power not to scream at the sight before her; she saw the tips of her newly formed fangs sticking out from under her lip, but that wasn't what caused her reaction, oh no... It was the fact that there were two fuzzy little dog ears sitting on the top of her head...

As if to make sure that they were real, Sakura reached up and tenderly stroked one of them, and in response to the contact, the ear swivelled to the side.

"Oh, Kami..." she murmured... "I have got to get out of here!"

Screw washing her face! She needed to have a look at that barrier!

**-With Inu Yasha and Neji-**

The group had no idea what to make of Shippo's fox guardian... It was a complete mystery to them as to how or why such a thing would search out the small kitsune just to train him... And the kit's tail... Or, tails, to put it more accurately... How had Shippo progressed at all? Sure, he'd gotten better control of his Kitsune Maho, and sure, he had put up with Inu Yasha's beatings for awhile, but reaching a milestone in his strength?

Inu Yasha was still skeptical about the fox, but Neji assured him that what Shippo was translating to them was perfectly natural. He explained the whole matter of the Kyuubi, Ichibi, Nibi, etc. to the half demon, but still, it did not help matter's much... For some reason, the more tails a creature has, the stronger it is, didn't sink into the hanyou's brain...

They had no time to discuss the matter any further; it was now morning, and Sakura was only a little ways off, now.

All of them were now preparing to set off. Shippo's fox guardian, who's name was Mamoru, had told him that he was to keep going at the group's pace without any assistance. He said that this was to strengthen the young kit's endurance, and speed. If they were to fall behind, they would catch up later.

Shippo had started out strong, able to keep up with the front of the group for at least ten minutes, but from there, he became tired, and he frantically tried to speed up once he saw that everyone else was starting to pass him by. Eventually, he lost sight of everyone but his fox guardian.

Though a few of the group were worried for him, they continued on, knowing that Mamoru would be enough to protect the kit if anything happened to him.

A couple of hours had passed, when Inu Yasha spoke, breaking a long silence. The hanyou pausing in his running in order to address everyone.

"Alright, by the scent I have, we're about two miles off. Knowing Sesshomaru, he'll probably have a barrier set around the place..." He looked at Kagome. "Kagome, you'll probably be the only one who'll be able to get in, so you're going to have to find this 'Sakura'," he told her, giving a small nod when she agreed.

"What does she look like?" inquired the miko, looking to Neji.

The shinobi smirked. "That," he said. "Will probably be the easiest part of this mission. She has bright pink hair. You'll never be able to miss it." Neji looked around at his team. "We'll try and take down the barrier, if there is one. Most likely, we'll need to take it out from on both sides, so take these tags with you." He collected a handful of explosive notes from his team, leaving half with them.

"Hai,"agreed Kagome.

"Yoshi, iku ze!" ordered Inu Yasha, leading them towards Sesshomaru's palace.

**-All (sort of)-**

Sakura was able to make it outside with relative ease; apparently, Sesshomaru was still unconscious, so, if she found that the barrier wasn't that strong, she could get through it easily! Currently, she was walking through the courtyard. About thirty yards away stood the barrier.

'_Better get started...'_

With a quick burst of speed, she was at the barrier's side. She placed her hands against it, and was met with a powerful burst of electrocution. Immediately, she pulled her hands away.

'_So, lightning chakra... Meaning that I could use a wind type jutsu to cancel it out... The shock from this barrier wouldn't affect me if...'_ Sakura trailed off in her thoughts. For some reason, something was telling her not to continue with the thought... It was as if her mind was being tugged on, and someone was listening in...

'_Inner Sakura...'_ she called out to her indwelling self. About a year ago, she had learned to harness the power of Inner Sakura. Only after training with Ino was she able to fully make use of it. However, she had figured out what Inner Sakura was capable of when she went against Ino in the first Chunin exams. It only took her a few years to train, and control that ability.

As soon as she called out, she felt her mind become, in a sense, released... In the far recesses of her mind, she could hear Inner Sakura's ranting...

'_I'd hate to be the person she's dealing with right now... She's probably one of my strongest genjutsu attacks...'_

When discovering her new ability, she had no idea what the Inner Sakura could be when spoken of in attack strategies. Only recently had Sakura come up with that Inner Sakura was a genjutsu placed on her to protect her inner most thoughts if someone ever tried to read them through another jutsu.

Now, Sakura had a plan to escape. She of course would tell none of it to Mari until it was time. She'd need a while to create this technique... However, she had learned when Naruto created his new and improved, yet dangerous, Rasengan, how effective the Shadow Clones were in the training.

Now, why wasn't Naruto still in Konoha, or at least coming to rescue her with Neji? Well, he had taken up another extensive training journey with Jiraiya, in hopes of coming across Sasuke and bringing him back.

To test her theory, Sakura concentrated some of her wind-based chakra into both of her palms. She then placed them back against the barrier. Again, she was met with another electric shock, but compared to when she touched it with just her hands, it wasn't as strong.

'_It appears that my theory is valid. Yoshi... I shall begin training for my new technique in the morning... That barrier absorbed a lot of my chakra... However,'_ she paused in her thoughts. _'I'll have Inner Sakura protect all my thoughts and plans of escape.'_ As she thought it, it was done. Her plans would not be revealed to anyone who was going to refuse to let her leave.

Tired and exhausted, Sakura was about to return to her 'room', or, for lack of a better word, confinements, when she saw a face on the other side of the barrier. It was a woman.

At once, Sakura was back at the barrier's edge, starring back at the young woman, no more than a teenager, who was staring back at her. Though she couldn't hear anything from outside of the barrier, she saw the teen look back at something, and appear to shout something else at whomever she was shouting to.

Suddenly, the teenage girl returned her gaze to Sakura, and started walking towards her. Sakura tried to warn her that if she even touched the barrier, she'd be electrocuted, but Sakura's words died on her lips as the young woman walked straight through the barrier, without any indication of pain whatsoever.

When she was fully through, the young woman smiled at Sakura.

"Konnichiwa!" she said, still smiling. "I'm Kagome, and I'm guessing that you're Sakura, right?"

"Uh, h-hai..." sputtered the rosette. "Demo, how did you know?"

"I'm pretty sure that I know your friends. We've been traveling for a couple of days with a few guys and a girl. An inu, too. I believe the one leading them was called Neji..." she trailed off, putting a finger to her chin in a way that signaled that she was thinking.

Sakura's eyes went wide, as she muttered out, "Neji..."

Kagome looked at Sakura strangely, before remembering something. "Oh! He told me to give you these!" she exclaimed, grabbing the handful of explosive tags that were given to her out of the elastic band that held her skirt up. "He said that you'd need these to take down the barrier."

Sakura didn't hear Kagome's explanation, only shouting instead, "No! If he finds you here, he'll kill you all! You have to get out of here while he's still unconscious!"

Kagome looked at Sakura as if she were crazy. "Demo, Sakura-san, I don't understand,"she said, thrusting the explosive tags into her hands. "They said these should be able to get you out of here, and that you could escape!"

For the first time since Kagome showed them to her, Sakura looked down at the explosive notes. She shuffled through them, looking at the characters on each one, reading them off as she went.

"Fire, fire, lightning, earth, fire, water, earth, fire, fire, wind! Kagome-san only one of these will have any effect on this barrier! I doubt they even have another one of one that will effect it, since they're so hard to come by! I'm surprised they even had one at all!" she ranted, burying her head in her hands. "No, they need to get out of here, and so do you! He'll kill all of you if he manages to get you alone!"

Sakura collapsed to the ground, trying not to cry as she saw more faces appearing on the other side of the barrier, one of them Neji's.

"Demo, Sakura-san, what am I to tell them?" inquired Kagome, kneeling next to the distraught kunoichi.

Sakura looked up into Kagome's eyes. As she thought about an answer, she rattled one off, saying, "Tell them that I have a plan, but it will take time. Tell them that I will be back in time for the Jonin exams, and to sign me up. They'll know what it means, but more importantly, get them out of here! If Sesshomaru finds out-"

"If I find out what, on'na?" inquired an emotionless voice.

Sakura frantically turned to Kagome, ordering, "Run! Get them out of here! Whatever it takes! I'll hold him off while you get out of here!"

Sesshomaru raised an elegant eyebrow in curiosity. Just how exactly did his Sakura expect to be able to let that girl escape? It would definitely prove to be interesting.

Kagome only looked at Sakura blankly for a moment before, realizing that Sesshomaru was standing only a few feet away, she actually followed Sakura's orders.

Sesshomaru made a move to go after Kagome, but Sakura was immediately in front of him, holding an offensive stance in order to defend the one who was running back towards the barrier.

"On'na, you will move yourself out of this Sesshomaru's way, lest he remove you by force," he threatened, glaring hard at Sakura.

From the other side of the barrier, everyone stood watching what was taking place; they saw how Sakura was standing up to the demon lord all alone. They saw how she appeared to be trying to protect Kagome. They saw what changes had befallen her in only a few days time, and were shocked. But the one thing only Hinata and Neji could see, was how low on energy she was...

"She'll never defeat him on her own! We have to get in there and help her!" shouted Neji, held back by the barrier.

As he said it, Kagome came running through said barrier, panting and out of breath.

"What happened!? Why isn't she with you!?" demanded Neji, finally letting his feelings show.

"She said she couldn't!" replied Kagome when she caught her breath. "She said that you needed to get out of here, to run! She said that she has a plan!"

"A plan!? A plan!? How in the hell does she expect to escape!? Especially now that Sesshomaru is right there!" he roared, waving his arms and hands furiously in the direction of Sesshomaru and Sakura.

"Oi!"shouted Inu Yasha. "Don't yell at her! She's only the messenger! It was your friend that said these things! Don't be yelling at the one who only relayed the message!"

Neji looked at Inu Yasha with wide eyes. Kagome repeated again, more slowly and firmly this time, "She wants you to run. She's afraid that he'll kill you all. She has a plan."

Neji looked back down at Kagome, now silent. He only nodded now. If Kagome was the only one who could get through the barrier, then what use was there trying to get through?

"Fine... Let's move out..." he said quietly. Neji looked back at the barrier, catching Sakura's eye as she looked back. He mouthed to her, "I love you,"before turning away, and returning in the opposite direction.

Everyone else followed silently, knowing how leaving Sakura affected Neji. Inu Yasha's pack, though not completely chummy with the group, dared to not say anything, for fear that Neji's wrath would turn on them.

Later in the evening, after getting some distance from the palace, enough so that Sesshomaru wouldn't bother himself with tracking them down, the group stopped to make camp.

A little while after getting away from Sesshomaru's palace, they caught up with an exhausted Shippo, and a perfectly fine Mamoru. They ended up having to leave them behind again, but soon after camp was set up, Shippo and Mamoru joined them.

Hinata turned to Kagome, who was feeling guilty for not doing anything to get Sakura to come with them, and said, "Like I promised earlier, you are all welcome to rest at our village for as long as you need. In fact, it would honor us all if you would all stay until we are through with the Jonin exams. However, they're just less than a month away, so I would understand if you didn't want to stay that long..."

Kagome nodded eagerly. It was the first exciting thing that they had heard all day, and it had gotten her mind off of her failure.

Inu Yasha, however, disagreed.

"Sorry, kid, but we have our own mission; we have to defeat Naraku before he can take control of our world. If he gets the rest of the Shikon no Tama, we're all done for,"he explained impatiently, having gone over the whole plan time and time again.

"But Inu Yasha,"pleaded Kagome. "I have at least five of the Shikon pieces with me. Naraku wasn't powerful enough to defeat anyone in the group, so he fled."

"I agree, Inu Yasha. Perhaps a small vacation would do us some good," allied Miroku, obviously tired from all of the traveling.

"And it's not like we couldn't be training, you know,"reminded Sango. "I'm sure that there's some place to train in their village."

Hinata nodded. "Hai, you could train with us. We have plenty of training grounds fit for all of your abilities. For Shippo and Mamoru-san, there's a small forest located in our village's borders. And, if you're worried about this 'Naraku', you could always talk to Tsunade-sama. She's our Hokage, the best ninja in the village."

In those few sentences, Hinata said more than many people had ever heard her say in such a short span of time. And, she didn't stutter once!

Sango and Kagome smiled at Hinata warmly. Miroku did as well.

"Keh, fine... It seems I'm outnumbered anyway..."finally agreed the hanyou, much to the pleasure of everyone else in the group.

While everyone else was talking about one thing or another; Shikamaru and Sango about battle strategies, Kiba yelling at Lee for whatever reason, Akamaru chasing after Kirara in her enlarged form, Shino ignoring the desperate attempts by Miroku to start a conversation, etc., Kagome walked up to an alone Neji.

"Um... Neji-san, Sakura-san really did tell me that she had a plan... She said something about your notes, saying that only one of them was the right type for the barrier, and wouldn't work anyway... We wouldn't have been able to get her out anyway..."rambled Kagome, trying to get Neji to understand. "Demo, she did tell me to tell you to sign her up for the jonin exams... Whatever those are... She said to expect her before then..."

At hearing a message that was definitely from Sakura, Neji smirked slightly.

"You don't have to explain anything to me, Kagome-san. I know that it was not your fault, and I am sorry. It's just extremely hard to just leave her..."

"I think that she'll be just fine, Neji-san..."

**-Back with Sakura-**

After the shinobi and Inu Yasha's pack escaped, Sesshomaru was furious. In his anger, he rushed at Sakura, who was just barely able to avoid him. When he rushed at her again, she wasn't able to avoid him, and he caught her by grabbing her neck and holding her in the air, her feet dangling above the ground.

"On'na, you were trying to escape..." growled the Taiyoukai, his eyes starting to bleed red, appearing to be a pinkish tint.

"N-No..." choked out Sakura, quickly losing oxygen.

"This Sesshomaru knows what you think. You're mind told me many things, but I was attacked by something before I found out how you were going to do so. Explain, wench!" he roared, throwing her to the ground.

Sakura rolled a bit, struggling to get up. Her throat hurt so much that it was hard for her to speak. With what she could say, she muttered out, "Shosen Jutsu," and formed a hand sign, healing what damage was done to her neck with her remaining chakra.

When she could speak, she shakily stood up, and looked Sesshomaru in the eye.

"As I have said before, Sesshomaru..." she growled out strongly, feeling her breath return to her. "If you want answers out of me, call me by my name... And, stop calling yourself 'This Sesshomaru'. It really grates on a person's nerves..." Though she said this strongly, he could tell that she was in no condition to be talking in such a way.

With another burst of speed, Sesshomaru was at her side, and slapped her, his claws grazing her cheek and leaving small and long cuts, as well as sending her flying back towards the ground.

He advanced upon her again, ready to land another blow before she could rise once more, but before he could, Sakura called upon her Inner-self to infiltrate Sesshomaru's mind, and stop him from coming any closer.

It worked, and, because Sesshomaru winced and now held his head in his clawed hands, Sakura knew it. While this was happening, Sakura was able to stand herself up, and walk up to Sesshomaru as he was starting to writhe in pain.

With a quick tap to his forehead, and the uttering of the release word, "Kai," Sesshomaru's pain ended without so much as a trace, save for the memory of it that was now implanted in his brain.

"Now, do you want to know why you can no longer read my thoughts, as it was obviously you who intruded upon them earlier? If so, call me by my name. Otherwise, you will get nothing out of me," she warned, glaring at him.

Sesshomaru bit back another growl. In his thirst for information, he was able to mutter out, "How are you able to resist the telepathy, _Sakura_?" he inquired, once again muttering his name as if it were a curse.

Sakura slowly smirked, and was actually about to tell him, when she collapsed to the ground, her eyes still opened. Though, in that moment when she was falling, they glazed over, giving her the appearance that she was dead...


	5. Chapter 5: Memories That Should Never Be

**Chapter 5: Memories That Should Never Be Seen**

Sesshomaru watched Sakura fall without much concern. He was a little irritated that she fainted before she could tell him anything, but that could be fixed in due time. She did, after all, have fifty years to spill her guts out, figuratively speaking.

As she hit the ground and lied there helplessly, he debated whether or not he should even bother to help her. After all the trouble she was causing him, she deserved whatever suffering she was going through…

_**Sakura's Subconscious:**_

_The Haruno was still aware of everything around her; her body as she fell, the way Sesshomaru just stood there and did nothing to help her, and especially the familiar chakra presence on the inside of the barrier._

_However Sesshomaru didn't sense it was beyond her. It was so strong, so overbearing, so protective, yet so…so cold… and hateful…_

_She heard a voice, and like the chakra, it was so familiar, and the combination of the two sent chills downs her spine._

_Then, the voice directly spoke to her._

"_Well now, Sakura-chan… It seems that you're trapped in this place… Too weak to even save yourself…" it sneered. "How pitiful... But I suppose that it was to be expected. You never were very strong. Not even strong enough to save _them_Your own family. It seems only fitting that you remain here for the rest of your life…" He paused. "But then again, you have certain qualities that I find desirable…"_

_She couldn't speak. It was as if whatever darkness was surrounding her was filling her lungs, making her unable to retort back._

"_Hn… No witty remark? But you were always so apt to reply, Sakura-chan…" the voice taunted cruelly._

_Through the darkness, a shadowy figure, almost ghost-like, appeared. It was coming closer and closer with each passing second, fading in and out of existence as it drew nearer, only to appear clearer and clearer each time it reappeared._

_In the shadowy figure one could make out two eyes on the head. However, these eyes were not normal; they glittered red like the color of blood, and in that red was black, like a consuming hatred that would devour everything; like the dark abyss that enveloped them both._

_It was then that it became clear who the person was. It was clear why the chakra signal and voice were so familiar. It was Sasuke…_

"_I'm coming for you Sakura-chan, and I'll kill anyone who gets in my way," he promised, laughing cruelly._

_The blood red and accursed black of the Sharingan were all that Sakura could see. As if air had finally filled her lungs and the heaviness of her black surroundings was lifted, Sakura let out a blood curling scream, and was awakened._

_**End Sakura's Subconscious:**_

Sakura awoke in a bed, screaming as if someone had stabbed her in her most vital point. Tears were streaming down her face; tears that hadn't shown themselves for years. Her eyes were closed, as if trying to keep the image of the Sharingan out of her head, but that didn't help at all. It was rooted firmly in her mind, no matter how much she wanted it out.

Sesshomaru was sitting right beside her bedside in a chair, having kept watch over her as she tossed and turned in whatever nightmare she was in.

To see the girl cry like this, after showing so much fire and determination, even going so far as to tell him that she feared nothing other than a certain someone (whose identity he had yet to discover), it was almost unbelievable.

"On'na!" he practically roared, trying to get her to cease her screaming. "You will stop your infernal screaming this instant, or I will personally rip out your vocal chords!"

This threat barely fazed Sakura, whose screams died down into shaky sobs. By her scent, even if the tears hadn't already hinted at it, he could tell that she was immensely terrified.

Though it was not in his nature to be kind or considerate in any way, Sesshomaru placed a firm hand on her shoulder, trying to get her to calm down.

"What has happened to you, Sakura?" inquired the Taiyoukai, a bit calmer than before.

He was able to make out "I can't tell you!" and "Why would you care anyway?" through her sobs and violent shaking of the head.

"This Sesshomaru cares not for your problems. He does, however, wish to keep order in his palace and that cannot be done if his new mate is screaming at the top of her lungs," he growled, trying to get his point across. "Now tell me what is wrong!"

The only thing he received out of Sakura was another violent shake of the head.

"Does it have anything to do with this person you fear?" he inquired. "If it does I will find this person and kill them where they stand."

She shook her head again. Her sobs were beginning to quiet down.

"He will kill you!" she cried to him. "No matter how strong I get, he will always be stronger! I'm weak and pitiful compared to him!" Her sobs died down enough that only her breath was shaky. "That's all I've ever been… Weak little Sakura… I couldn't even protect them…" she whispered to herself, gaining a lost look in her eyes as she relived her worst memories.

A sudden sense of fatigue washed over her, causing her eyes to grow heavy, feeling as if she hadn't slept for days.

"I can't let anyone else die…" she whimpered, too tired to realize that Sesshomaru had been calling her by her name.

Because she didn't want to risk anyone finding out the information about Sasuke, she had it guarded by Inner Sakura, placed in the most secure recesses of her mind along with her plans for escape. While she wanted to guard everything, she didn't have the time to do so as she fell asleep before she was able to.

Though he would never admit to saying so, Sesshomaru was curious about his new mate. Well… as close to a mate as he was going to get. If it ever came to a point where they were ever in love and truly wished to be mated, a bite mark would have to be placed on Sesshomaru's neck.

It was obvious that Sakura had an interesting past that she was not willing to share with him… Well, that was something that would have to be solved…

The Taiyoukai let his beast roam from the corners of his mind into Sakura's in order to establish his telekinetic connection with her once again. Hopefully, he'd be able to get information about her past without being attacked like he had earlier…

When he was met with no resistance when coming across her worst memories, Sesshomaru took the chance. It was unlikely that he would ever have another one in the near future…

_**Sakura's Memories:**_

_A younger Sakura, probably around thirteen, maybe fourteen, years of age, was on her way home from an extended mission. She had been away from her family for almost a month, and couldn't wait to see her parents._

_Though her parents weren't ninja, only mildly successful merchants in Konoha, they always supported her and her dream of being a strong kunoichi_

_The tradition that the Haruno's had was that whenever Sakura would return from a long or important mission, they'd make a wonderful dinner to celebrate the mission's success while listening to Sakura tell of all of the details._

_Sasuke had left almost a year ago, but because of this Sakura had grown even closer to her friends and family. It was the small things that they did for her that made her smile, and she felt lucky to have them around her._

_She rounded the corner of the street leading to the Haruno residence, already smelling the delicious aroma of a wonderful pasta dinner that was coming from her home. That was always the favorite dish of Haruno Sakura. It was an original Italian dinner in place of the traditional Japanese one. It was something that her mother had picked up on her travels as a merchant._

_Soon enough, she reached the housing arrangements that belonged to the Haruno family. It wasn't a manor or even anything special at all, but to Sakura it was home._

_Her spare house key was kept safely in her breast wrap, as she kept no pockets on her for fear that whatever was in them would fall out. When she had retrieved her key, she put it in the door lock, twisting it so that the door would open, gaining entry into her home._

_As soon as the door swung open, the smell of pasta hit her with full force, and it was definitely appetizing._

"_Ah! Yuri, Sakura's home!" announced a male voice, obviously calling for the one called "Yuri"._

"_Oh, Saboten I'd be out here already if you'd only help me in the kitchen!" replied said woman, scolding the man now known as Saboten_

_Saboten only laughed it off, good naturedly commenting, "Hehehe. Sakura, tell your mother that a man would only be in the way in a kitchen!"_

"_Hai, papa!" agreed Sakura, giggling at her father. It was the traditional home-coming dialogue. It was always the mother scolding the father for not giving her any help in the kitchen, and the father making up some joking excuse or another in order to get out of it. It was yet another thing that Sakura looked forward to when she returned home._

_The Haruno household was not only a home, but also a place of business. Whatever items the Harunos had acquired on their travels filled up almost every ounce of free space they had, just waiting to be sold in the village. There were some very rare artifacts from other countries lying about in the house, well protected from anything that might harm them._

_Shedding her cloak and placing it on a coat rack, Sakura moved to give her mother the help she needed in the kitchen. However, just as she was about to enter the kitchen, Yuri came out, removing a pair of oven mitts and enveloping Sakura in a big hug._

"_Oh, Sakura," welcomed Yuri. "It's so good to have you home!" Yuri gestured to a pile of plates sitting out on the tabletop. "Now, if you'll be so kind as to set the table, we can eat dinner and you can tell us all about your mission in Iwagakure."_

_Sakura nodded her head, smiling a little bit. Within the span of three minutes the table was set and Yuri was bringing a large bowl of spaghetti covered in meat sauce to the table where Sakura and Saboten were patiently sitting._

"_Itadakemasu!" they exclaimed in unison, grabbing their chopsticks so that they could each take part in the meal._

_Before they could even put a single noodles to their mouths however, the doorbell rang. It was an odd thing for someone to come to their home so late, but the Harunos didn't question it. It very well could've been someone on business._

_As Saboten handled all monetary affairs regarding the business of selling his artifacts, he was the one to get up from the table, exit the room, and go open the door. From the kitchen, neither Yuri nor Sakura could see who it was at the door._

_Yuri followed after her husband, curious as to know who it was and also being the one who knew the whereabouts of whatever item the customer wished to purchase. Everything was sorted into its proper place…according to Yuri anyway…_

_Because it was rude to eat while no one else was at the table, Sakura patiently wait for her parents to get through with their business, fiddling with her chopsticks. She didn't join her parents at the door, for fear she would get in their way while they were working._

_She heard her parents' voices as they answered the door. She heard the voice of the one who was at the door, recognizing it and freezing in her seat._

"_It couldn't be…" she whispered. "Sasuke-kun…"_

_As soon as she got her senses back, she was out of her seat and at the door, now staring into the blood red Sharingan_

_The Uchiha smirked at her, and Sakura was able to notice that he was in a similar attire to those who were Sound-nin. There was a katana sheathed at his back which neither one of Sakura's parents seemed to notice. They only went on discussing what items might interest him._

_From there, it was as if everything was moving in slow-motion. Sasuke pulled his katana out of its sheath, surprising the Harunos. Yuri and Saboten stopped their talking and stared at the weapon with wide eyes. _

_Sasuke slashed the blade vertically, and Sakura forced herself to move in order to block the hit in order to protect her parents, but to no avail…_

_The Uchiha chuckled coldly as he maneuvered the blade so that it completely missed Sakura and hit her parents, Yuri getting a deep slash in the abdomen and Saboten receiving the rest of the hit, having the blade slash diagonally across his chest._

_Sakura watched in horror as her parents were murdered before her very eyes. Sasuke had closed his eyes as he was sheathing his katana, and Sakura tried to use this to her advantage._

_She was suddenly hit with a burst of adrenaline loathing. All love for the Uchiha was forgotten as her father lay dead and her mother dying._

_With what strength she was able to control, Sakura charged at Sasuke, ready to punch him into unconsciousness before turning him into the Hokage. No matter how much she wanted to kill him, that was not her decision to make._

_Just as the blow was about to hit, Sasuke's eyes snapped open and with a single hand he blocked her attack, using the other to send her flying into the wall behind her._

"_Sakura-chan, if you want to kill me, every fiber of your being must be consumed by your hate for me," he recited, having similar words spoken to him by his own brother. "I know that you will never fully hate me, at that level especially, for you always truly loved me. Know this though, Sakura-chan." The Uchiha paused momentarily._

_Sakura weakly looked up from her place against the wall, fighting to stay conscious._

"_I will return for you one day, and anyone who gets in my way will perish."_

_With that said, the Uchiha disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Sakura to fall into an unwelcome slumber._

_ANBU Black-Ops found her later that night, having received information that a shady figure visited the Haruno residence._

_Sakura was checked into the hospital with hairline fractures in many of the bones of her vital points. She was treated be Tsunade and was released from the hospital about a week later._

_When she returned home, the uneaten pasta still remained on the kitchen table…_

_**End Sakura's Memories:**_

Though Sesshomaru was in shock, he felt no sympathy towards the woman who lay sleeping on the bed in front of him. However, the information he received was what he had wished to discover, and immediately he took off towards his study. If he could recall, there had been complaints about a young man with red eyes and a katana in some of his documents. He, along with several other people, were presumably the ones responsible for a number of attacks on villages and demon packs.

When Sesshomaru had finished reliving Sakura's memories, it was already well into the night. After checking through all of his scrolls, light was beginning to shine over the horizon.

He knew nothing of this Sasuke's abilities aside from the fact that he used a katana, but that was nothing special for many other people in the area did as well.

From the memory, Sesshomaru could tell that there was something significant about Sasuke's eyes, but why he wasn't sure. Everything was just one big mystery to him.

Another thing he recalled from the memory were the feelings of sorrow and love that Sakura had felt back them. Also, Sasuke called her "Sakura-chan", which was something that deeply angered the inu youkai. Sakura was his mate (as close as she could get anyway), and no man should have the right to call her as anything else, no matter how long ago it was…

Sesshomaru shook his head in order to rid himself of those thoughts. He was starting to sound very jealous of this Sasuke. He had even acted the same way when Sakura had referred to her friend as "Neji-kun", even going so far as to threaten to kill the boy. So far, this was sounding very unlike himself. He had never been that way with any other woman he had had at the palace, so why start now?

His questions remained unanswered as Jaken came bursting through the doors of his study, squaking incoherently about something. Finally, when the little imp could finally make some sense out of his words, Sesshomaru started to listen.

"Milord! There's an intruder! He's already killed a number of the guards! What're we going to do!?" he cried out in fear, doing his best to restrain himself from clinging to Sesshomaru's pant leg and start sobbing.

"I will take care of it…" growled the Taiyoukai, stalking out of his study in order to find the intruder.

The air in the palace was circulated by large vents connected to the outside. Wind from the outdoors pushed the air in the palace around, helping it get to other places quickly. The scent would end up mixing with others from certain areas of the palace, making the location obvious.

Sesshomaru used this to his advantage, tracking down the foreign scent that would belong to the intruder. When he finally found it, he was surprised to find that the closest duplicate of the scent was sitting right before his study doors.

Looking back into the study, Sesshomaru found that his retainer was gone, and in his place stood the same vile man from Sakura's memories.

"So, you must be Sasuke…" recognized the inu demon, glaring at the Uchiha who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest while his Sharingan stared directly into Sesshomaru's golden eyes.


	6. Chapter 6: Uchiha Sasuke and the Leopard

**Chapter 6: Uchiha Sasuke and the Leopard Youkai, Hyo**

"You're assumptions are correct. And you, well, you're obviously the widely talked about Taiyoukai, Sesshomaru. It's a pleasure," greeted the Uchiha, blankly staring at the demon before him.

"I wish I could say the same about you…" he spat in return. "You have, however, just saved me the trouble of tracking you down."

Sasuke smirked. "Now, Sesshomaru-sama, what crime have I committed that would require such drastic measures?" he inquired smoothly, disappearing then reappearing behind Sesshomaru out in the hallway.

"You have distressed my new mate, as well as slaughtered youkai villages in the area. You say you are ignorant of these crimes?" asked Sesshomaru, not bothering to turn to face his intruder.

"I would not say that I am ignorant, only that you cannot prove that it was I who committed what you accuse," he shot back, smirking at the fact that he had an answer to everything the inu youkai asked him.

"It would seem so," replied Sesshomaru, running a clawed hand through his silver hair. "Yet I would have no qualms in destroying you." He was silent for a moment in his thoughts. "Leave this place, before I decide to end your pathetic life."

"Hn… That's surprising Sesshomaru. I would've thought that after what you've seen tonight that you'd try to end me anyway. I mean, I'm the reason for Sakura-chan's suffering, as I believe you witnessed." The Uchiha shrugged his shoulders. The only reason he now stood before Sesshomaru was because he desired a challenge. Sakura would be following his side after the youkai perished. "Demo, if you really want me to leave, I'll just retrieve my Sakura-chan and be on my way."

Sasuke skillfully dodged the poison claws that were aimed at his abdomen and chuckled cruelly.

"Hehe… I was wondering how long it would take you to attack. Finally, a challenge that I'm willing to face."

He flipped backwards down the hall, beyond Sesshomaru's reach.

"However, I've more pressing matters to attend to at the moment." Sasuke, forming a hand sign, added, "I'll be back soon." With that, he disappeared, and Sesshomaru dreaded the feeling that resulted from the knowledge of where he was headed.

Immediately, Sesshomaru rushed to Sakura's room where she still slept soundly, knowing for a fact that's where the Uchiha was headed.

**Sakura's Room:**

Mari was watching over Sakura as she slept, checking her pulse and temperature to confirm that she had regained her strength and health from the previous night.

Out of nowhere, she felt a strong chill that froze her bones, and right away knew that something was wrong.

Gathering Sakura into her arms in order to protect her from the impending doom, Mari frantically called out, "Hyo!", while activating her defenses.

As she did so, the door was blasted open and an intense heat filled the room, easily identified as fire, which quickly dissipated. A cruel laugh was heard at the open doorway, sending shivers down Mari's spine.

"There's my Sakura-chan…" said the owner of the laugh, quickly approaching the kame youkai and the pink-haired partial inu youkai. "Hn, more beautiful than before…"

He finally caught sight of Mari and his smirk turned into a disappointed frown. "You, girl, give her to me and I won't have to pry her out of your dead fingers," he threatened her, clenching his fists warningly.

Sakura's eyes snapped open at the sound of the voiced threat, instantly recognizing the voice. She whimpered and clutched at Mari's kimono, shocking the kame. In Sakura's short time at the palace, she had always given off a fearless air. Now, that all changed with the man that was walking up to them.

"Hyo!" she cried out again, feeling vicious and terrible powers accumulate in the body of the man before her.

As Sasuke was about to attack with a Chidori, having the chakra gather in his hand, he was met with a powerful blow to the back, causing him to stumble and release the electrical chakra at his intended target.

Unfortunately for Sasuke, the chakra was deflected by a barrier, brought up by Mari's defenses. The chakra was rendered harmless and the barrier was released.

"Quit your yelling, Mari! I'm here, damnit!" shouted the one who had attacked Sasuke, landing gracefully on his hands and feet, crouching down to prepare for another attack.

Mari sighed in relief as their savior arrived. "Hyo… Be careful Hyo! He has a powerful aura around him!" she warned, holding Sakura close as she began to cry and struggle to get away.

"Well, Mari, I can see that!" growled Hyo, avoiding attack that the Uchiha threw at him as he recovered.

Hyo was a leopard demon, and obviously a very obnoxious demon at that. His hair was bright blonde with black streaks running through the locks. His eyes were golden, as were the fang-shaped streaks on his face under his eyes. He had a long, slender tail that swished back in forth in preparation for an attack. His speed was greater than that of Sesshomaru's by more than twice over, and his intelligence was second to none. His strength wasn't to be taken lightly, either.

"Interfering with my demands will only get you killed, demon…" warned Sasuke, his Sharingan spinning as it tracked every movement the leopard demon made.

"And interfering with me with get you killed, ningen…" growled yet another voice, belonging to Sesshomaru. He'd finally made it up to Sakura's room, his eyes bleeding red in his anger.

Sasuke paused in his attack and glanced around the room, weighing his options.

"Hn… Expect to see me around, Sesshomaru-_sama_," sneered the Uchiha, forming another hand sign and disappearing yet again.

A few moments was all it took for the demons to gain control of themselves, but Sakura was still shaking with her sobs.

Sesshomaru watched her silently, not sure if he was feeling disgust for her nerve-racking sobs or sympathy for her experiences.

"Hyo, Mari, watch over her for now. I will return shortly," ordered the Taiyoukai, making his way to the stables where he would retrieve his loyal two-headed ryu, Ah-Un. He was going to survey the land and search for the Uchiha to confirm his location. This event was not something he could leave unattended.

When Sesshomaru was gone and Sakura had calmed down enough, Hyo walked over and kneeled beside Mari, placing a clawed yet comforting hand on Mari's shoulder.

"Gomen, Mari… I was roaming the gardens when I heard you scream. I got here a quickly as I could," apologized the youkai. He let his gaze fall on Sakura, who was starting to release her grip on Mari. "So, this is the Sakura that everyone has been talking about. Any idea why that man was after her?" he inquired, not believing Sakura was capable of speaking at the moment.

Mari was about to reply when Sakura spoke up.

"H-He's after me for his c-clan supposedly," she admitted, using the sleeve of her shirt to wipe away her remaining tears. "I'm not safe here, and neither is anyone else around me. I have to leave!" she demanded. "That's w-why I'm going to develop my jutsu and escape!"

Hyo's ears twitched at the mention of escape; it wasn't possible.

"Well, Sakura-sama, how do you plan on doing that?" inquired the leopard, not expecting a valid explanatory answer from her.

"That barrier is made up of electrical chakra, which is easily conquered by my wind chakra. I would only have to harness my chakra in a jutsu capable of taking care of that barrier temporarily while I made my escape," explained Sakura, already having lost her stammer.

"You'll never be able to do so under Sesshomaru's watch, if you could even manage it at all," disapproved Hyo.

"Hyo," muttered Mari, grabbing the leopard's attention. "I believe she can manage it, and when she does, I want to go with her…"

Hyo's eyes visibly widened, shocked that Mari would even consider it.

"Why would you do that!? Do you know what Sesshomaru would do to you when he caught up to you? You'd be punished severely for that!" Obviously he was worried about Mari's wellbeing.

"I'm willing to take that chance, Hyo. I want to find my family. You know how long I've been here and how much I've longed to finally be reunited with my brethren," she replied, defending her desire and dream to leave the palace and go beyond its barrier.

Hyo sighed; this didn't sit well with him, but he had to admit that Mari was making a decent point. Hell, if only they weren't dealing with a psychopath that has just declared himself an enemy to Sesshomaru, he'd be able to go along for the ride… Unless…

"If you're going, I'm following you. If we get caught," He paused momentarily, shrugging his shoulders. "We'll just explain to Sesshomaru that we only followed Sakura-sama in order to keep her safe."

In his mind, this plan was full-proof to keep Mari and himself out of trouble, but the problem was that Sakura wouldn't be safe from the Taiyoukai's wrath… Well, unless she was as strong as everyone made her out to be. There had been an interesting rumor circulating the palace about how the young pink-haired mistress put the great Sesshomaru into a prolonged state of unconsciousness…

'_Great… I've got two demons set on following me after I escape. I think I can trust Mari-san, but this Hyo person might cause me some problems…'_ thought Sakura, fully releasing herself from Mari. '_Regardless, I don't want anyone to get hurt when Sasuke comes back… And if my summoning contract hasn't become nullified due to my current state, I may be able to handle him with a little help… Either way, I need to start training immediately!'_

"Alright Mari and Hyo-san, show me to the training grounds kudasai."

**With Neji and Inu Yasha:**

They had made it to the gates of Konoha in the early afternoon that day, greeted by a very exhausted looking Tsunade.

"Hyuga, please tell me that my Sakura is with you," she pleaded. Though it was difficult to tell at the moment, it was clear to Neji that Tsunade had been crying behind closed doors.

Regrettably, he shook his head and stared at the ground.

Tsunade clenched her fists angrily in order to regain her composure, and once she had accomplished that, she finally acknowledged the foreign people standing among Neji's team.

"Who are they Neji?" inquired the Hokage, sighing tiredly.

"Hokage-sama, they assisted us when we were searching for Sakura," he informed, earning an accepting nod from the blonde.

She turned to the group and inquired as to what their names were, only doing so for the sake of courtesy.

Unsure how to answer the older woman, most of the group opted to address her as they would a lord or lady.

Miroku spoke first, bowing to Tsunade. "Erm… Hokage-sama, I am but a humble houshi. They call me Miroku," he told her, showing deep respect and not trying to grope the older woman. (Hey, keep in mind that no one in the Inutachi can tell just how old Tsunade is… Inu Yasha is the only one that can tell she's older than she lets on.)

Tsunade bowed as well. "Konnichiwa, Miroku-sama. However, for future reference, I prefer to be called Tsunade," she replied, turning her attention to the woman next to him.

"Konnichiwa, Tsunade-sama. My name is Sango, and I specialize in demon extermination," greeted the taija, dropping down to one knee as a show of respect. Slowly, she removed the neko youkai from her back, introducing her as well. "And this is my exterminating companion Kirara." The small youkai mewled in confirmation.

"It's a pleasure, Sango-san, Kirara-san."

Tsunade now gazed upon the little kitsune youkai and his guardian, and had the situation been any different, she would've laughed at how intimidated he was by her.

Mamoru nudged Shippo in order to coax him to speak.

"U-Um… M-My name's Sh-Shippo, ma'am," he stuttered shyly. "I'm a k-kitsune youkai, and this is my g-guardian Mamoru-sama." The fox in question also bowed to the Hokage, proving once again that he was not a normal fox.

The next victim to Tsunade's intimidating gaze was Kagome, who seemed purely immune to the tension in the air.

"Konnichiwa, Tsunade-sama! My name is Kagome Higurashi, and, while I'm not a very good one, I guess I'm qualified to be a miko," she chirped, trying to lighten the mood.

Tsunade acknowledged her will a nod of the head before turning to Inu Yasha. "And you? The one with the ears. You've not introduced yourself yet."

Inu Yasha only crossed his arms over his chest haughtily. "Keh, why should it matter to ya you old bag? You're likely to forget it as soon as we're out of sight…"

Tsunade was about to clobber the hanyou when Neji spoke up in his defense.

"Forgive him, Hokage-sama. That is Inu Yasha-san. He's Sesshomaru's brother apparently…" stated the Hyuga, glaring at the silver-haired hanyou.

"I believe that I've already made this clear, kid. _Half_-brother," insisted the red-clad half demon.

Tsunade was definitely surprised to say the least, but said nothing of it.

"Very well. You are all permitted to stay here as long as you wish. I will have rooms set up for your stay," informed the Hokage, already starting to formulate a plan. "Feel free to explore the village, but you may want to take an escort." She walked up to Neji and whispered into his ear. "Hyuga, I want you to send Inu Yasha-san to my office in the morning," she ordered, before starting on her way to the Hokage Tower, effectively dismissing the ninja.

"Great…" mumbled Inu Yasha. "What do we do now?"

"W-Well, I could show everyone around i-if you'd like. Afterwards, we can visit Tsunade-sama to find out w-where you're staying," offered the Hyuga heiress.

"That would be great Hinata-chan! Arigato!" thanked Kagome, hugging Hinata appreciatively.

While Shikamaru watched everyone take their leave, he stayed behind in order to take the time to stare at the clouds for the remainder of this slightly peaceful moment.

While his gaze was turned to the sky, he couldn't help wondering if he was seeing things. There, up in the sky, was a large off-white feather, appearing to be floating to the ground.


	7. Chapter 7: Assisting Winds and Escape Pl

**Chapter 7: Assisting Winds and Escape Plans**

Now he was sure that it wasn't a cloud. The longer the Nara looked at it, the bigger it got, and he noticed that it was picking up speed as it descended right above his head…

With quick reflexes he managed to leap out of the way before it crushed him into the ground, and as the dust began to clear from the gust of wind caused by the landing he was able to actually take in what it was. It was that woman, the one from the fight a few days before.

"You! I thought I told you to return from wherever you came from," he barked at her, softening his voice as he realized he was making a scene.

"And I told you that I'd rather die," she replied evenly, stepping off of her feather and causing it to shrink in size. She placed it in her hair when it was small enough to pass as a hair ornament.

The shadow user looked at her skeptically, deciding eventually that he could risk hearing her out. "So why are you here?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "I've heard rumors of a great medic with skills far surpassing anyone of this time period. I also heard that she lives in this village," she explained quickly, her eyes shifting from side to side as if she were afraid of getting caught by someone. "It's urgent that I speak with her."

"Why should I take you to see her?" he inquired, wary. For all he knew she wanted to assassinate the fifth Hokage.

"Look," she bit out testily. "This matter doesn't concern you. If she knows how to help me then I won't need to keep assisting that dirty hanyou."

He looked at her pointedly, weighing his options. She seemed to be telling the truth, and from the way she was panicking she was obviously serious about her situation. Besides, if anything went wrong he would be there, and Tsunade could take care of herself.

"Very well," he finally acquiesced. "Follow me." He also muttered something about troublesome women but didn't care to elaborate on what he was complaining about.

"Arigato," she thanked him genuinely. "If this works I will be in this village's debt."

"Great," he murmured to himself. "That's just what we need…"

**-Three Weeks Later: With Sakura-**

"Sakura-chan," started Mari, watching as the young inu kunoichi dispelled the last of her clones. "This session was much shorter than all of your other ones. Does that mean…" The turtle demon trailed off, too hopeful to end her sentence.

For the past three weeks, Sakura had been training almost non-stop. She used whatever free time she had whenever Sesshomaru would leave the palace or at night when everyone was asleep, to develop her new technique. If Sesshomaru was awake and would not leave, she'd leave a kage bunshin in her place so as not to arouse suspicion.

Every day she practiced with five shadow clones, perfecting her technique and testing it out on the barrier every once in a while.

Sakura wiped off the sweat that had accumulated on her brow and grinned at Mari. "Hai, Mari-chan. I think it's ready."

The kame placed a hand over her heart and breathed in deeply, happiness and almost disbelief coursing through her.

"Start packing what you wish to bring with you and tell Hyo-kun. We shall be leaving sometime soon," she whispered into her friend's ear, not wanting to be overheard when they were so close to escaping.

Her plan was fairly simple; Sesshomaru would be leaving for a distant kingdom, somewhere in the opposite direction of Konoha, and wouldn't be due back for about four days. By that time, Sakura planned on being in her rightful home and taking the Jounín exams with Neji. He was setting out for his journey sometime in the late afternoon, so she planned on leaving that night.

She would leave three shadow clones in the palace, two transformed to fit the characteristics of Mari and Hyo while the last was of her. That way, no one would wonder where anyone was, and things would remain the same until the jutsu needed to be released.

Mari immediately nodded and ran off to find her leopard demon friend to tell him the good news, leaving Sakura to herself.

The dog-eared kunoichi ran off to her room soon afterwards in order to gather a few of her belongings. She would want nothing with her that came from the palace, only her ninja clothes and possibly a few weapons from the armory. There was one thing she could say about Sesshomaru; he had good tastes when it came to his weaponry.

Her grin fell into a frown as she thought about Sesshomaru. After Sasuke came after her he had done his best to start treating her as a person, not something he owned. She had to give him that, but all she really wanted was to return to Neji, the one who loved her and vice versa.

And then there was her ninja life, a thing that she couldn't give up no matter what. She loved what she did; it was her passion. Maybe not the killing part, but being able to prove she could compete with the egotistical men and hold her own in a fight was a priceless treasure that she couldn't bear to leave behind. And her medic training; helping people was her life, and she couldn't exactly do that in the palace...

But none of that mattered right now, for by the time the sun rose in the morning, she would be safe within her own home.

**-Three Weeks Earlier With Shikamaru and Kagura-**

"Listen, if anything so much as seems like it's going wrong, you'll be taken into custody. Keep out of trouble and don't get on Tsunade-sama's nerves…" he warned her, leading her through the Hokage Tower.

She glanced at him briefly, anxiously snapping her fan open and closed. "I have no reason to be hostile towards this medic if she can help me with my problem. You have nothing to worry about," she assured him, stopping with him as they reached Tsunade's office door.

He looked at her and nodded, gently rapping his knuckles against the office door.

They heard a muffled, "Come in," and Shikamaru slowly opened the door.

"Tsunade-sama," started the kage user. "This woman needs to speak with you." He stepped aside to reveal a fidgeting Kagura, who hesitantly stepped up in front of him. "She has no malicious intent, so treating her shouldn't be a problem."

The blonde was sitting at her desk with her head resting lazily against her palm. She raised an eyebrow at Shikamaru's bluntness.

"Oh?"

"Lady Tsunade," began Kagura, kneeling before the woman at the desk and keeping her head downturned as she was taught to do in her service with Naraku. "I am Kagura, and I require your assistance."

The older woman sighed as she examined the demoness, obviously frustrated with her earlier meeting with Inu Yasha. "Go on."

"…I…" she started, but trailed off, reluctant to reveal her condition.

"Please, tell me your problem and I will do my best to help you," stated the Godaime, becoming impatient.

"…I…Well, you see… I have no heart," admitted the red-eyed woman ashamedly.

Tsunade's eyes widened considerably. While she was bored a few minutes ago, this had definitely gotten her interested. She was, however, very skeptical.

"Ja, Kagura-san, I just don't see how that is possible," she told her, looking at kaze youkai critically.

Kagura tried to keep her calm. She was becoming furious at the fact that the medic she risked coming to see didn't believe her.

"…I-I have a heart, just…just not in my body. My...my heart is held in the hand of a man, no…hanyou named Naraku. A simple squeeze will end my life," she ground out, keeping her eyes downturned in order to show her submissiveness.

Shikamaru stood silently in the corner of the office, doing nothing but gaining information on the youkai in front of him.

"And you want me to…"

"I _need_ you to find me a solution. If he destroys that heart, I need to be able to live on without it," she insisted, finally lifting her gaze to meet Tsunade's.

The busty blonde regarded her silently for a short while before standing up and walking around her desk to get a closer look at Kagura.

"Stand up kudasai," she requested, taking note of the vital signs Kagura showed as she stood. Through the light kimono that Kagura wore she could make out a faint pulse in the bosom area. Abruptly she addressed the lazy shinobi on the other side of the room. "Shikamaru, find Hinata and bring her to my office immediately," she ordered, keeping her eyes on him until he exited the room.

"Why does someone else need to come it?" questioned Kagura suspiciously, narrowing her eyes at the thought of being deceived.

"I have a theory," supplied the Godaime, crossing her arms over her large chest. "I don't know if you noticed, but you have a pulse, meaning that there is a heart in your body. My…my apprentice encountered an enemy medic that used the ability to connect his heart with another with the use of chakra strings. Whenever his heart was in danger, the one who he was connected to felt extreme pain and was also at risk for whatever conditions occurred in the other heart. If there are chakra strings, we simply have to find them, which Hinata can do, and cut through them, which any experienced shinobi can do," she explained thoroughly, taking in Kagura's look of confusion as she did so.

"So, it's only a connection?" she repeated slowly, trying to confirm what was said. "That's not my heart he has?"

"Oh definitely not," assured the blonde, refraining from rolling her eyes. "Once the strings are cut you'll be fine."

For a moment, Kagura was speechless. "It-It's really that simple?"

Tsunade sighed as she walked back to her desk to sit down again. "Hai. That is, if I'm right."

"A-Arigato," she stuttered, unsure of how to react to the news that she might actually receive her freedom.

Tsunade waved off the statement and reached under her desk, grabbing a bottle of sake. As soon as she filled her drink Hinata and Shikamaru walked through the door, panting heavily from rushing right over.

Shikamaru had explained to Hinata about the appearance of the woman they had fought only days ago, so the young Hyuga wasn't surprised to see her in the office of their great fifth Hokage.

"You called for me Tsunade-sama?" asked the heiress, bowing in respect.

"Ah, hai, Hinata. I need you to check for chakra strings either surrounding, on, or in this woman's body," she assigned, taking a nice swig of her alcohol.

"Ah, hai." With a simple hand sign she activated her Byakugan, her chakra pulsing through the veins around her eyes. A sweeping glance over Kagura's body revealed to the much improved shinobi that there were indeed chakra strings surrounding the heart and leading in some other direction outside of the body. "I see them Tsunade-sama."

"Good, now cut through the strings kudasai," she requested yet leaving no room for argument.

Hinata did as she was told, but did so delicately so as not to damage the demoness' inner system. The task took only moments to finish and when she was through she immediately deactivated her Byakugan.

"The strings have been cut Tsunade-sama," stated the tired woman, nodding her head in the other's direction.

"Arigato, Hinata. Go on home and rest kudasai."

Hinata bowed again and headed out the door, mumbling a quick goodbye to everyone in the room.

"So Kagura-san, do you think you'll be alright now?"inquired the Hokage, smiling slightly as she too another sip of her sake.

The wind demon was speechless; she had her freedom after that torture Naraku put her through, and that meant the world to her. A tear rolled down her cheek, which she quickly wiped away. It was like this for a couple of minutes, until she collected herself.

"A-Arigato Tsunade-sama," thanked the black-haired demoness. "If-If there's anything that you need my assistance in," she said, taking a pause in order to pull one of her white feathers from her hair. "Send this into the wind and it will find me." She handed the feather to Tsunade, who smiled at Kagura and waved her away good-naturedly.

"It was no trouble Kagura-san, but in regards to your offer, if you ever see my apprentice…" Tsunade pulled out a picture of Sakura from one of her desk drawers and handed it to the now free youkai. "Bring her back to me kudasai."

The Hokage had to use all of her willpower to keep from crying.

**-Three Weeks Later With Sakura-:**

It seemed like it took an eternity for night to fall at the Palace of the Moon. Sesshomaru had taken his leave just as the sun began to set, leaving the three potential escapees anxious and nervous throughout the day.

Now that it was night, Sakura stealthily made her way to the servants' quarters to fetch Mari and Hyo. Earlier when she was alone, she had snatched a pair of kodachi along with a sturdy, yet graceful, katana from the weaponry.

With the covertness normally associated with her occupation, she easily snuck into the servants' quarters and found her new traveling companions, surprisingly wide-awake and ready to go.

They were out of the palace in minutes and were now standing at the edge of the barrier, their long-awaited freedom just within their grasps.


	8. Chapter 8: Twilight Journey

**Chapter 8: Twilight Journey**

Neji lay on his bed, staring up at his ceiling unblinkingly. It had been just over three weeks since he had to leave Sakura behind, and the thought of what could've happened to her tore him apart.

The Jounin exams were only three days away. He had signed Sakura up like she had asked him to, pairing them up together as teammates for the exams. He was starting to wonder if she'd ever make it in time, if she even made it at all.

In those three weeks, Neji had been training relentlessly with either Inu Yasha or the taija, Sango. It helped him to take his mind off of Sakura, but the feeling of absolute helplessness always remained with him.

Suddenly, Neji flipped himself over on his side, staring out his window and into the dark starlit night, where the moon was full and nothing wrong ever seemed to happen.

**-With Sakura-**

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" questioned Sakura, giving them both one last chance to back out of the escape plan.

Both shook their heads after a moment of hesitation. "I've been waiting for this opportunity for far too long to just let it go to waste," assured the kame youkai, determined to leave while she had the chance.

"I'm taking this chance while it's available," added Hyo, turning his head to glare coldly at the palace behind them. "I've been stuck in this place since I was a cub, and never has an opening like this revealed itself."

Sakura regarded her two new friends with respect, nodding as she understood their reasons. "Very well," she finally said, drawing her fighting gloves onto her hands. "Stay close to me, and make sure you don't move."

"Wait, Sakura-chan," hastily whispered Mari, pulling a small parcel from her kimono. She unwrapped the parcel to reveal three necklaces, each with a turquoise charm as the pendant. "It would be wise if we put these on."

"What are they?" asked the Haruno skeptically, taking one into her hand as Mari handed it to her.

"They're special charms. When you wear them, your scent vanishes," she explained, slipping hers around her neck. "If Sesshomaru-sama realizes that we've left and tries to follow us later, he won't have any scents to track."

Sakura thanked Mari and praised her for her thinking ahead, putting hers around her neck just as Mari did. She looked over to see that Hyo was already wearing his, waiting patiently for them to finish.

"Yoshi, now that we're ready, hold on tight to me, and don't let go," she ordered them, waiting as they gripped her shoulders tightly. With a rapid succession of hand signs, the Haruno gathered the chakra around her body, letting it swirl protectively around her and the two demons.

Her wind element chakra clashed against the barrier keeping them contained in the palace grounds, causing large bursts of electricity to spark around them.

"Fuuton: Kaze no Tate," the kunoichi whispered fiercely, fully activating her technique. The chakra surrounding them fused with the wind, creating great gusts of protective currents. So much wind was blowing at such a great rate that the three held inside the wind barrier were lifted off of the ground.

Using her chakra to push them along, they met the purging barrier head on, meeting with a lot of resistance, but pushing through, the three inside occasionally feeling small shocks of pain from the purification energy.

As the piercing feeling embedded itself into their skin, making them all wince as they felt their inner beasts recoil at the sensation, Hyo and Mari gripped even tighter to Sakura's shaking form. She was shaking due to the pain and concentration of keeping the jutsu up, and she knew that if they didn't make it through the barrier soon, it would be over for them.

Finally, the pain became unbearable, causing the two females to cry out at the sting while Hyo grunted as the soreness hit him. Almost as soon as the pain reached its peak, it was over, only the memory of the hurt left behind as the wind technique started to dissipate.

As the last of the wind dispersed, the hovering three fell to the ground, Sakura panting heavily as she hauled herself to her feet. Hyo and Mari stood behind her, looking behind them to stare at the barrier that they had just traveled through unbelievingly.

It wasn't that they had doubted Sakura; they believed in her abilities fully. It was just the fact that never before had they been outside the barrier that had become their prison. It was a new sensation, being free. New sights and sounds and smells entirely. It was completely enticing, and yet, it seemed too good to be true.

"We-We have to move now while we have the chance," voiced the partial youkai, rousing the two demons from their thoughts. "We can make it to my village before the sun rises if we hurry."

As she turned to run in the direction of Konoha, Hyo gripped her shoulder, effectively stopping her.

"Sakura-chan, I believe I can get us there sooner than that," offered the leopard demon, just as eager to get out of the area as she was.

"If you could it would be most appreciated Hyo-kun," acquiesced the Haruno, smiling gratefully at the blonde with black streak haired demon.

Concentrating his youki, Hyo began letting down all of the guards he used to keep his beast in check, allowing him to turn into his true form; an oversized leopard. His golden eyes were accentuated by the red replacing the white, making his form even more beautiful. The scent altering necklace had adjusted to his size, hanging loosely around his strong neck.

A soft purr like growl came from the large feline in front of the two young women, comforting them and causing them to relax.

He motioned for them to board his back, to which they gladly accepted, and then sped off into the forest, listening from the occasional direction from the pink-haired partial demoness.

**-In Konoha: With Shippo and Mamoru-**

The two kitsune were resting momentarily against a tree, taking a break from Shippo's strenuous training. The younger of the two was panting heavily, still adjusting to his master's methods of improving himself.

As of that night, Shippo's improvement had become quite noticeable. His agility and stamina had greatly enhanced, and he had grown a few inches taller. His Kitsune Maho now had a few more tricks in its arsenal, and his Fox Fire glowed brighter and burned hotter than ever. Granted, he wasn't ready to battle demons like everyone else in the group, but at least now he wasn't totally defenseless.

The best part about all of this was was that Inu Yasha was having a harder time catching him in order to dish out a complete pummeling. Life was good for the small fox.

It was now well into the late hours of the morning, the sun beginning to light up the sky in the distance. Mamoru, now that it was lightening up, was ready to dismiss his pupil in hopes of getting a few hours of sleep before people started waking up.

As they walked into the village, Shippo stopped suddenly, causing Mamoru to pause.

'_What is it, deshi?'_ questioned the experienced fox, cocking his head to the side in a backwards glance.

The kitsune youkai sniffed the air, listening closely to every detail. "I-I sense something. There…There are a few powerful demonic auras approaching the village… They seem pretty fast Mamoru-sensei," he relayed, keeping his senses focused on the demons.

The elder kitsune did nothing for a few moments, taking the time himself to sense the auras approaching. '_Shippo, hide yourself and keep track of the auras. I will return shortly.'_ With speed greater than the young demon ever would have expected him to have, his teacher took off into the village, probably off to find some help in case they were under attack.

'Please hurry, sensei.'

**-With Neji-**

As if his restless sleep couldn't be any worse, he was woken up yet again, much to his displeasure. It had been this way for the past three weeks, but never before had he woken up like this…

"Wha?" he murmured groggily, trying to focus his eyes in the slightly lightened darkness.

'_Yes, ningen… That's right… Wakey wakey… Stupid human…' _growled the irritated fox, having attempted to wake the Hyuga for the past couple minutes. '_What an inconvenience…'_ As Neji had no fox lineage in his background, there was no way for him to understand the one perched upon his chest with its paws on his forehead.

It took all of Neji's self-control to not jump at the unexpected sight of Shippo's fox guardian staring him in the eyes, but he couldn't stop the sharp intake of breath from the sudden shock.

Mamoru, seeing that the young male was now awake, jump off of him in favor of landing on the floor, still keeping his gaze on him meaningfully.

"What do you want?"

'_I _need_ you to get out of bed and follow me, baka…'_ the fox thought, clearly annoyed. He let out a small bark and paced in a circle near the window in the room before jumping on its sill, casting a quick glance outside.

Already he had gathered two of the other humans that had first accompanied Neji, and the group that followed Inu Yasha.

'_Inu ningen understood much faster than this… So did the insect user…'_

Finally registering what the fox wanted, Neji jumped out of his bed and slipped on his jacket and ninja sandals before following Mamoru out the window to an unknown destination.

**-With the Three Free Demons-**

As the light from the sun came up over the horizon, Sakura began to recognize certain aspects of the terrain, knowing that they were close.

Along the way, they were attacked by what Mari called lower class youkai. They weren't at all complicated to defeat, but they were quite an annoyance.

Sakura was exhausted, refusing to sleep even after escaping. Whether it was from the fear of someone knowing they escaped or from the excitement of returning home, she wasn't sure. Maybe it was a mix of both. The fact that her chakra stores were pretty much shot from using her technique only hours before didn't help any.

Hyo had been right when he said that he had a faster means of getting to Konoha, and for that Sakura was completely grateful, but he was pushing himself way too hard. He hadn't stopped to rest at all, and it was beginning to take its toll. He was getting slower, and his breathing was becoming erratic.

Mari had fallen asleep shortly after a lesser demon attack, her fingers still firmly fisted in Hyo's fur.

Her thoughts were interrupted when they passed a large boulder, oddly shaped, almost like a ramen bowl. They were close, only a couple minutes away, and she knew this because that boulder was Naruto's treasured hideaway training spot for when he was in Konoha.

"Only a little more Hyo-kun!" urged the kunoichi, keeping her eyes focused for the always open gates of Konoha. "Just a little more!"

Hyo, with a final burst of his power, sped up for the final stretch, determination flowing through him. He would not stop until they were safe within the borders of Sakura's village.

Almost in a blur, they passed through the doors, so quickly that Sakura never even registered seeing them. As soon as they were through, they came to a dead stop, Hyo collapsing on the ground and reverting back to his humanoid form, unconscious from fatigue.

Mari and herself tumbled to the ground without the large form of the leopard supporting them, Mari still asleep whilst Sakura tried to regain her footing. She heard collective gasps from somewhere around her, but she couldn't register where they were coming from due to her darkening vision. She collapsed, but realized with surprise that she did not hit the ground.

**-With the Gathered Group-**

When Neji arrived, he was more that surprised to see his comrades and Inu Yasha's group standing in front of Konoha's entrance, all of them in what appeared to be battle stances.

"What's going on?" he questioned, also readying himself for an attack.

"The runt sensed a few high level demons approaching fast in this direction. Sent the fox to come'n get us," growled the irate hanyou, not happy being disturbed from his sleep.

"Hey!" protested Shippo in indignation, not liking how he was being referred. "I-"

"Should've just let you deal with 'em yourself," huffed the half demon, gripping his Tetsusaiga tightly as he sensed the three demons coming closer. "You've gotten so tough from your training that you should be handling this," he jabbed sarcastically, allowing no room for the young demon to get a word in.

"Cease your useless squabble with the child and focus on what's at hand," hissed an equally disturbed Shino, releasing some of his bugs so they were at the ready.

"Keh, fine…"

As soon as it was said, a large feline like form burst into the village, collapsing just as suddenly as it entered and shifting to take on the shape of a young man. Two figures rolled off of his back as he fell, one of them staying on the ground while the other fought to stand.

Neji caught a flash of pink, as did Kiba and Shino, all three gasping as they realized who had appeared.

"Sakura…" whispered Neji disbelievingly, his eyes widening as he saw her start to fall again. He managed to get his feet to move so that he was able to catch her in his arms before she hit the ground, her tired and changed form laying limply in his arms as he clutched her to him tightly, the other two forgotten.

She was finally home.


	9. Chapter 9: Adjusting

**Chapter 9: Adjusting**

"So this is the girl you were looking for… Keh, not bad kid," she heard someone say off to her side. His voice was gruff, almost like Kiba's, but she didn't recognize it as anyone she knew.

Her eyes were closed and her ears were twitching sharply from all of the sounds. And the smell… She'd know that particular smell anywhere… She was stuck in the hospital…

Slowly, she tried to open her eyes, knowing from past experiences how bright the lights in the hospital were.

"Hey! I think she's coming to!" she heard a girl announce. _'Kagome was it?' _"Sakura-san?"

The rosette became suddenly aware of someone's hand on hers as it tightened its grip. At that, staging an educated guess as to whose hand it was, she allowed her eyes to fully open, a light groan escaping from her lips.

"N-Neji?" she rasped, tired from the night's journey and the ultimate exhaustion of using up most of her chakra.

"I'm here, Sakura," he replied, squeezing her hand reassuringly.

"Did—Did I make it in time for the exams?" she asked, smiling a little to lighten the mood. She couldn't help the giggle that escaped as Neji rolled her eyes at her. Then, suddenly, she remembered her companions. "How…Are Mari and Hyo…Where are they?!" she asked, raising her voice in her concern. "What happened to them?"

"If you are referring to the two that you showed up with last night, they're fine… In the other room in fact," replied Shino, who was standing in the corner, silently pleased that the pink-haired medic would be alright.

Sakura sighed with relief, glad that her friends were alright. "I'm serious though," she said after a moment. "When do the exams start?"

"Tomorrow afternoon… The written test is first, and a more difficult version of Forest of Death challenge will take place in the evening. Elimination matches will take place in two weeks, directly after we get through the Forest of Death, and when they are completed, we will be given a mock mission to establish cooperative capabilities and performance ability," he explained to her, stroking her hand with his thumb.

She nodded, resting her head on her pillow. Her dog ears were twitching in mild apprehension, and due to the fact that she was used to them by this point, she didn't register it as strange. The others did however…

"Oi, Sakura, what's with the ears?" questioned Kiba, grinning a little, even though the situation wasn't in the least bit funny, considering what happened to Sakura. "And the fangs? Trying to be me now?"

She couldn't bring herself to laugh at Kiba's attempt at lightening the situation, and her mood showed through the way her ears flattened against her head.

"Gomen…" he said, apologizing. "I thought…"

"It's fine Kiba…" replied Sakura, trying to smile at him, while next to her Neji fixed the Inuzuka with one of his fiercest glares.

There was a commotion in the next room, identified by the protests of nurses and the crashing of metal. When the door to Sakura's room burst open, she immediately knew the cause.

"Sakura-sama!" When Hyo burst into the room, Mari following closely behind, his face reddened from embarrassment as he saw the large amount of people in the room.

"I'm here Hyo-kun… Are you and Mari-chan alright?" she questioned, genuinely happy that he was up on his feet and that he seemed to be recovering from the journey quite well.

"Erm…Hai… But are you okay? The nurses told me that you were still asleep," he answered, moving out of the doorway to make room for Mari.

"I'm fine. I'll be up and running around like normal in a matter of hours."

"Ah…" Hyo glanced around the room, taking in all of the different faces.

There were quite a few people packed into the small room that Sakura was resting in. Inu Yasha and some of his group, which included Shippo and Kagome, were standing close by, but then there was Neji, Shino, and Kiba.

"So…Who's the guy you wouldn't stop talking about?" asked the leopard jokingly, ignoring the slap in the arm he received from Mari for being so insensitive.

"Hehe…" giggled the pinkette, thoroughly enjoying Hyo's discomfort. "He's right here Hyo-kun. This is Neji. Neji, Hyo-kun is a leopard youkai, and this is Mari," she said, nodding in Mari's direction. "She's a turtle youkai. They were my friends when I was with Sesshomaru…"

"And body guards…And conspirators…And therapists…" continued to list the obnoxious demon, smirking at his pink-haired familiar.

Neji regarded the other male a little jealously, in the fact that he was close with Sakura in her time away from him, and in the fact that he was so familiar with her. Still, he conveyed his thanks to the blonde-black-haired man. "Arigato… For watching over her and seeing her safely home… I… I don't quite know how to repay you for this…"

Hyo shrugged noncommittally. "Keh," he scoffed. "It was nothing… Just point us in the way of some decent food and we'll call it even."

He was silenced by a jab in the ribs from Mari. "Hyo!" she reprimanded. "If anything we owe Sakura! We'd never be here without her to—". She tensed suddenly, pausing in her scolding.

"What's wrong Mari?" questioned Sakura, who was snickering at Hyo's pain.

"I…I think I sense…"

"What is it?"

"I think one of my descendents is near…" she gasped disbelievingly. "But—!"

The door to Sakura's increasingly crowded room was thrust open yet again revealing…

"Konoha's own Blue and Green Beasts! Rock Lee and Mito Gai! May youth restore your health Sakura-chan!"

**-With Sesshomaru-**

The meeting with the other lords had gone quite smoothly. He expanded his borders in the direction of the north, for the price of lumber from his forests; valuable wood indeed… The vegetation in the west grew extremely sturdy when compared to the other kingdoms, and there was so much. The fact that it grew quickly certainly was a bonus.

The meeting was over much more quickly than originally anticipated, and he was currently returning to the palace.

His mate was certainly turning out better than he had hoped. Sure, she was extremely disobedient, but she was immensely powerful, matching, or even surpassing, him in strength and cunning. She was so unlike the noble women he had attempted to pup, and he couldn't wait for the opportunity in which he consummate with her.

In the time spent at the palace with her, he just couldn't help the feeling that she was different, special. He found himself at a loss on how to explain these things he was experiencing, but he knew that it was no natural occurrence that made him treat her with what one could only name as a grudging respect.

He couldn't be more pleased with how things were going, even if now they seemed grim. She was finally getting adjusted to life at the Palace of the Moon, and while he did not condone it, she was making friends with the servants.

Speaking of the servants, he was worried about the leopard demon, Hyo… He didn't like him being around Sakura. Call it jealousy or possessiveness, but he was lord, and if he did not want him near her, he should not _be _near her. But that did not stop her from conversing with him, or spending time with him, which, while it irked him considerably, made him pleased to see that she was kind to his help.

At the meeting, he had brought up the problem of Uchiha Sasuke, who, even though he hadn't been spotted for almost two months, still posed a dangerous threat to his lands and his mate. The other lords had agreed to watch out for him, each locking Sesshomaru's accurate description within their minds for later use. He was to be presented to the Lord of the West when captured, dead or alive.

And yet, something was amiss. He couldn't place the reason, no matter how much he tried to name it, so eventually, after causing him massive irritation, he simply growled and pushed it to the back of his mind, doing his best to ignore his most basic instincts.

How was it, he thought, flying upon his youki cloud, that this mere pink-haired on'na was able to get him to register emotions that he had locked away since his father's passing? Why was he so protective of her wellbeing?

He didn't have an idea in the least. All he knew was that he was finding himself eager to be in her presence again. In the presence of that infuriating woman…

**-With Sakura-**

"Sakura-chan! I am so glad that you have been safely returned to us! We knew you'd be able to escape from that lord! He'd never be able to best the power you exude in the springtime of youth!" exclaimed Gai, rushing to her bedside and grasping her hands, shoving Neji out of the way, much to his displeasure.

"Eh? …It's good to see you too, Gai…" she said with a bit of exasperation, a bead of sweat lining her brow.

"Ah, my lovely Sakura-chan!" exclaimed Lee, also bounding up to her bed and knocking Neji even farther away from her. "I can't express how happy I am to see your youthful face again! You look well," he acknowledged, smiling sheepishly at her.

"Thank you Lee. It's good to see you as well," she replied, smiling gently, sending a concerned look Neji's way.

Mari, stunned for only a moment, began to approach the two green clad shinobi from behind. "Um… E-Excuse me…" she said, trying to get their attention.

Gai and Lee turned around, sending her a questioning glance. "Hm? Do we know you? You seem…familiar…"

Mari fidgeted with her kimono, needing a new one desperately as her current one was torn and beaten up. "Ja… I'm sure you don't know me personally…but… I think…I think you're my…well, a family member's…I think you're a descendent from the Kashikoi Clan…" she murmured, uncertain but excited at the prospect.

Gai regarded her strangely, as did Lee.

Mari, feeling embarrassed for attracting attention, lowered her eyes and tried to move aside, but Hyo came up beside her, preventing her from going anywhere.

"No, Mari, I think you're right," encouraged the Leopard, squeezing her shoulder kindly. "I can smell a little bit of youkai blood in their systems, but they'd have to be, like, your family's sixteenth generation or something… And they themselves aren't directly related, but I can smell enough to know they have common relations…" Hyo paused, taking the odd pair in. "Strange bunch of people your family turned out to be Mari… You sure you want to claim them?" he asked, joking to lighten her up.

Mari looked at Hyo, joyful tears coming down from her eyes as a smile graced her lips. Completely taking Hyo by surprise she turned and hugged him fiercely, crying into his worn shirt. "Thank you Hyo!" she cried, pulling away to smile tearfully at him. "Thank you!" She turned to Sakura, mouthing the same words to her as she could barely get the words out even then.

Gai and Lee simply stared at the kame youkai with something akin to wonder. They were related? What an… "AMAZINGLY YOUTHFUL DISCOVERY!" Immediately they approached Mari, hugging her without much question. There was time for that later. Now, they were going to enjoy knowing that they had someone other than themselves to rely on.

As Neji recovered from his brutal shoving over, he looked to Sakura for an answer. She simply shrugged and shouted her condolences to Mari for finding her relatives, no matter how extreme and disturbing they were.

**-With Sesshomaru-**

He had arrived at his palace only moments ago, calling Jaken to him as soon as he set foot in his home.

"Welcome home milord," greeted the toad. "How was your trip?"

Sesshomaru looked at his retainer coolly. "Not worth mentioning," he finally said, dismissing the subject. "Where is Sakura?" he asked, trying not to let his minute eagerness to see her leak through his indifferent mask.

"Why, I believe she is around here somewhere milord," replied the imp, looking about the halls for good measure. "Would you like me to fetch her?"

Sesshomaru nodded once, surprised at himself for his patience with his advisor's undecipherable squawking and for not punting him across the palace. He must've been in an abnormally good mood…

Jaken returned a short time later with his rosette mate in tow, her following behind him with a look of indifference on her face. The toad demon was spouting off some incoherent nonsense about how she should be more excited for her lord's return, and when she didn't respond, he went to kick her in the shin with his little foot to get her attention.

As the action was done, Sesshomaru let out a feral growl, warning Jaken that he shouldn't have touched his mate in such a harmful way. However, as she disappeared in a puff of smoke from the hit, he knew he had been tricked.

"I—I'm so sorry milord! Please forgive me for my—." The imp never got to finish his sentence, for Sesshomaru had finally lost his not so great patience in his amounting anger and kicked him across the hall. But not even the satisfying sound of the small creature connecting solidly with the stone wall in the distance was enough to make Sesshomaru forget that his Sakura had escaped him…


	10. Chapter 10: The Kitsune’s Gift

**Declaimer: I dont own Naruto or Inuyasha, so dont sue!!!**

**Chapter 10: The Kitsune's Gift**

Sakura was released from the hospital just hours after she had woken up from her deep sleep. Mari and Hyo were also released, the turtle demoness wandering off with Gai and Lee afterwards while Hyo decided to tag along with Sakura to see the village with her friends.

Tsunade had stopped in, trying her best not to cry while also fighting to not pulverize the inhabitants of the room for not alerting her of her apprentice's return sooner. She left soon afterwards after Shizune reminded her of the overwhelming amount of paperwork she had waiting for her in her office. She had bid Sakura a good day and had signed her out herself.

After Sakura had exited the hospital, Kiba and Shino had taken their leave, having matters of their respective clans to attend to. No one mentioned the daunting prospect of the written exam the next morning.

Now the group only included Sakura, Neji, Hyo, Inu Yasha, and Kagome, the five opting to walk around the village to gather up the rest of the Inu Tachi.

Once they were found, Sango and Miroku sparring at Team 7's old training grounds while Shippo and Mamoru trained close by, the group gathered around the pink haired hanyou, full of questions and giving introductions.

"So kid, you're Sakura," drawled Inu Yasha, plopping down on the ground while giving her an expectant look.

Nodding slowly she did the same, as did everyone else. "Hai… I thought you already knew that," she replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Keh…" he scoffed. " 'Course I did. The rest of 'em weren't at the healer's for introductions ya know."

"Inu Yasha! Don't be rude," scolded Kagome, taking Shippo into her arms as Mamoru sat at her side.

Sakura giggled at Inu Yasha's disbelieving expression, leaning into Neji who sat just behind her. Hyo was directly at her side, his tail swishing about in mild irritation. He was exceptionally uncomfortable…

"Anyway," Kagome continued, turning to smile at the rosette. "I don't know if you remember, but I'm Kagome."

Sakura returned the smile with one of her own. "Of course I remember you Kagome-san. It's good to see you again."

"Ah, cherry blossom. How fitting for one so beautiful," swooned Miroku, who sat at her other side. "I am but a humble monk, Sakura-san. My companions call me Miroku, and I would like very much if you would do so as well."

The holy man made no attempts at his usual lecherous ways, quite aware of how his lovely Sango was tightening her death grip on his hand in warning. No… He did not want to risk being hit by her Haraikotsu. While the appealing prospect of being slapped was an option, it was more likely that she would go for her demon weapon…

"A pleasure Miroku-sama," Sakura replied, smiling his way. She had no idea of his perverted tendencies and for that Neji was both thankful and worried that she would soon discover them…

Sango finally released the monk's hand, grinning good naturedly at Sakura. "I've heard so much about you Sakura-san. I am Sango. I come from a family of demon slayers." From her lap, she prodded Kirara to let herself be known. "This is my partner Kirara."

The neko mewled cutely as her greeting before snuggling back into Sango's lap, altogether uninterested in the demon kunoichi.

"And I'm Shippo!" exclaimed the young fox demon, bounding up to Sakura excitedly.

"Why hello, Shippo," cooed the kunoichi, smiling gently at him in his childlike innocence. "And what are you?"

The young demon puffed out his chest proudly. "I'm a kitsune youkai! Much better than that stupid Inu Yasha!" To enforce his statement, the young boy stuck out his tongue, directing it at the silver-haired hanyou sitting across from him.

"Little runt! Come over here and say that to my face!"

"Make me!"

"Why you!"

'_How childish…'_ projected Mamoru, rolling his eyes as the two started their game of cat and mouse…

"Hm?" hummed Sakura, unfamiliar with the new voice. "Someone say something?"

"No, Sakura-san," replied Sango, confused at the pinkette's query. "No one said anything…"

'_I said something…'_ replied the fox, glaring at the slayer for her ignorance.

Sakura's attention was drawn to the kitsune, having finally locked on to him as the source of the new voice. "You can talk?" she asked him, unaware that the only other one capable of speaking to Mamoru was Shippo.

'_And you can hear me…' _Mamoru calmly replied, staring at the recently turned hanyou in mild surprise. '_Interesting… Only Shippo-kun can hear me…'_

"Well I can hear you."

'_And for that reason you are special,'_ Mamoru stated, making his way to sit in front of the rosette while the others now had a look of utter bewilderment on their faces. '_Never before has anyone outside of the kitsune been able to understand another kitsune without a humanoid form. Perhaps it is destiny that we can communicate with each other…' _he pondered, unable to come up with any other explanation.

"May I know your name as well?" inquired Sakura, smiling softly. "Even though it seems only Shippo-kun and I can speak with you, I would rather not call you 'Kitsune'."

No one knew what to make of the girl speaking with the fox guardian. While wanting to say something, anything, to know what was going on, everyone found that the best option was either keeping completely silent or watching with exasperation as Inu Yasha continued to chase Shippo across the training grounds.

'_I am called Mamoru, Sakura-san… I am Shippo-kun's guardian,'_ he replied, bowing his head ever so slightly. '_I am surprised that you even asked my name, for most would see fit to ignore me. Again, you are something special, and for that I would like to gift you with these.'_

There was a loud popping noise as smoke filled the clearing, engulfing the fox. As it cleared away, mostly by help of the others waving it out of their faces, Mamoru became visible again, only this time perched on a small pile of scrolls.

'_These are what I believe you call Summoning Scrolls.'_ He stepped off of them lightly, using his paws to unroll one of them. '_As you can see, they are completely blank. This is because these scrolls are unique.' _He paused, quieting only to unroll the rest of the scrolls. '_I have heard that you will be undertaking a dangerous assignment to ascend the ranks of your society. You may use these scrolls to summon three trustworthy comrades to assist you in this task.'_

Sakura was speechless at the fox's offering. It truly was a spectacular gift, one that she was sure that she would never be able to repay the kitsune.

"Mamoru-san, I don't know what to say."

'_Think nothing of it. They've been in my possession for centuries and never have I had the chance to use them,'_ he supplied, nudging them her way. '_I feel that they could be put to better use with you.'_

Sakura bowed her head, accepting the scrolls gratefully as Neji looked on in confusion.

"Arigato, Mamoru-san…" She paused momentarily, looking at the scrolls in a bit of confusion. "Demo… How do they work?"

'_I believe that you must sign your name in your blood, as must the being you wish to summon. Not too difficult I'm certain,'_ he replied, nodding his red-orange head in confirmation.

"Well then, would you do me the honor of becoming one of these summons?" she asked with a small smile, a fang poking out from under her lip.

This certainly surprised Mamoru, not expecting that she would even consider him for a summon.

Without much thought, he agreed. '_It would be my pleasure, Sakura-san,'_ he finally answered once his initial shock wore off. Using the claws of his right paw, he nicked his left, waiting until enough blood pooled in his paw to press it against the surprisingly sturdy paper of the scroll, his paw print his signature.

Biting her thumb with her sharpened fangs, Sakura quickly signed her name under his print, sealing the contract. She would now be able to summon the kitsune whenever she needed him.

Nodding her head in thanks, she then turned to Hyo. "Hyo-kun, would… I mean, you don't have to but… would you become one of my summons?" she asked shyly, not wishing to offend her friend.

The leopard nodded immediately, grinning brightly though not fully understanding what exactly what it meant. He understood the basics and that was good enough for him. Biting his finger, he signed his name with his blood on one of the remaining blank contracts and smiled as Sakura did the same.

"Am I to assume that Mari is going to be the remaining summon?" asked Hyo, sucking on his already healed finger.

"Uh-huh," she answered, grinning.

"Well, it's nice to know that if you get into trouble we'll be there to get your scrawny ass out," he taunted, sticking out his tongue immaturely at her to which she did as well. "No offense to your man." He smirked at Neji, sensing his jealousy but joking all the same.

Neji glared at the youkai but said nothing, only humming in relative agreement.

"Alright," Sakura said, standing up with the help of Neji. "We're going to go find Mari-chan. I'll see you later. Thanks again, Mamoru-san." She waved to the fox who nodded his acknowledgement. "And it was nice to meet you all. I'll see you later!"

The Inu Tachi smiled and waved at her, saying their goodbyes.

"Oi! What do you expect me to do?" demanded Hyo, a bit put off at how quickly the attention was turned away from him.

Sakura shrugged, gathering her new scrolls in her arms. "I don't know. Ask Inu Yasha-san to take you to the ramen stand I'm sure he's visited. You had said you were hungry."

The leopard youkai pouted, again, immaturely, but did as she said and went to Inu Yasha, who had, by this time, given up on catching Shippo.

The pink-haired hanyou looked to her loving boyfriend fondly. "Let's go find Mari."

The Hyuga grimaced as he figured out what exactly that meant… Coming in contact with his teammate and ex-sensei… In other words, complete torture…

"I can't believe that your friend is related to…_them…_" he said, wincing as the last word came out of his mouth. It was painful just mentioning _them…_

Sakura nodded as the group behind them could no longer be heard, even with her new sensitive hearing.

"I know, but there's nothing we can do about it. Besides, she's centuries older than them. There has to be something that went wrong with the later generations of her family," she said logically. "I mean _look_ at her! She's like Hinata! How easy is it for some like Hinata to become someone like Gai-sensei or Lee?"

"Not easy at all…" agreed the Hyuga, sighing and resigning himself to what was to come. It seemed he would never be rid of the green-clad shinobi, no matter how much he wished he could. They would stay with him for as long as he lived…like a bad rash that wouldn't go away no matter how much he tried to treat it…

Oh well… Sakura would be there and that would make it all worthwhile. There were no questions asked about how she came to return…yet… There would be, eventually. But not now. Not while the wound, so to speak, was still fresh.

* * *

**Soo please review!!!**


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